£17m to see her children

A mother today agreed to a £17.5million reduction in her divorce settlement in return for access to her two daughters.

Mona Al Khatib, 47, of Virginia Water, Surrey, gave her "heartfelt thanks" for the Appeal Court decision.

A statement issued after the hearing on her behalf said: "She would like to say that the financial aspect of the litigation is, to her, insignificant compared to the resumption of her relationship with her children.

"The most important thing is that her relationship with her children has been restored."

The deal marks the end of a bitter legal battle with her former husband Dr Abdullah Masry. In 2002 businessman Dr Masry, 56, was ordered by the High Court to pay his former wife a record £26.3 million divorce settlement.

He was also told to return two daughters, aged 16 and 13, who he took from the couple's London home to Saudi Arabia four years ago. Dr Masry defied both orders, the court heard.

In the settlement agreed today after the Appeal Court called for mediation, Mrs Al Khatib will now get the proceeds of the former London family home. She can also use the money from the sale of a villa in the South of France to set up a trust fund for herself and her children.

The reduction in the value of the divorce settlement was said by Lord Justice Thorpe to be £17.5 million.

In return, although the children will continue to live with their father in Jeddah, they will stay with the mother during holidays.

When the case first came to the Court of Appeal in May this year, Lord Justice Thorpe said the daughters, who were taken by their father with two of their three older brothers, were being "imprisoned" in Saudi Arabia because of the war between the parents.

Today the judge said the agreement "reflects great credit on the generosity of both parents".

He said the settlement showed that children can be treated neither "as pawns nor possessions".

In a statement issued by Dr Masry, who was not in court, his lawyers said all members of the family "can now look forward to a happier and more settled way of life".

The statement added: "Dr Masry is personally pleased that his daughters have both chosen, with the full agreement of their mother, to continue to make their principal home with him in Saudi Arabia.

"They will be seeing their mother on a regular basis during their school holidays."