By Andy Dolan and Dan Newling


The two Britons convicted of having sex on a Dubai beach are expected to be back in Britain by the weekend after having their jail terms suspended.

The decision came amid claims they had apparently received lenient treatment only after signing a court document saying they would marry on their return to England.


Michelle Palmer, 36, and Vince Acors, 34, had been given three-month sentences and fined £155 each last month after being convicted of public indecency and having unmarried sex.

The Court of Appeal in Dubai has commuted the jail term to a three-month suspended sentence but ordered them to leave the United Arab Emirates.

A source close to the court told the Daily Mail that Acors and Palmer had signed a document in Arabic promising to marry.

The source said: 'The court was told that they had wanted to get married in Dubai but they did not have the correct documentation. So instead it was said they will get married in the UK.'

Legal experts in Dubai said it was likely that appeal judge Mohammed Abdul Aziz would have been influenced by such a promise because Islamic culture and law heavily favours marriage.

However, Acors's lawyer, Andrew Crossley, insisted his client had not authorised any such document, having ignored previous advice to marry Palmer to earn clemency.

He said: 'It is greatly to their credit that they have always refused to go down that route.

'If this document has been given to the court it is expressly without Vince's authorisation or knowledge. In any case, Vince is already married - although separated.'

The pair were caught apparently having sex by a policeman on Jumeirah Beach in July after meeting hours earlier at a champagne brunch at a five-star hotel, flouting the Islamic nation's strict laws.

Expat Palmer, of Oakham, Rutland, was sacked from her job in Dubai as a publishing executive after her arrest. Father-of-one and company director Acors, from Bromley, South-East London, was visiting the country on holiday.

They admitted a charge of being drunk in a public place but denied having sex, claiming they had simply been 'kissing and cuddling'.

The prosecution had also appealed the original sentence, claiming it was too lenient. The offence carries a maximum penalty of six years in jail.

Neither Acors nor Palmer were in court for the appeal verdicts.

Speaking afterwards, Palmer claimed the ruling 'proves our innocence after all the bad stuff that was written', and said she just wanted to 'go home and see my family'.

Her lawyer, Hassan Matter, said: 'They are free. It's wonderful. The judge gave us a good hearing as he has a good heart and a good brain. He understood everything.'

Mr Matter could not be contacted later for comment about the 'marriage promise' document.