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A mum has been deported from Dubai after going to work without the permission of her estranged husband. Tess Lorrigan, 46, was initially put in jail, but has now been sent back to the UK - whilst her six-year-old daughter Olianne remains in the Middle East with her father Michael, 59.
Mrs Lorrigan says she is feeling 'very, very lost' without her daughter. She told reporters that she got a teaching job in Sharjah after splitting from her husband, and was 'stunned' when she was arrested by immigration officials at her place of work.
She says she has spent £6,000 trying to win the immigration case, but after a travel ban was slapped on Olianne, had to return to the UK without her.
Speaking to Metro, Mrs Lorrigan said: "Olianne loves Christmas. She's always had her family and her cousins with her. She will have a very lonely Christmas this year. I don't know how long it's going to be before I see my daughter again and I don't know what to do for the best."
However, Mrs Lorrigan's husband Michael disputed Tess's claims, saying she 'went AWOL' with Olianne while he was on a business trip, breaking an access agreement.
He said: "I had to go to my lawyer in the end because she wouldn't let me see Olianne, and wouldn't even let me say goodnight to her on the phone. The system here is fair and the access agreement was fair, but she didn't want to honour it. I wanted her to stay in the UAE, to keep the family together. I spent £2,000 lodging an appeal. She could have stayed here until the appeal was heard, but she wants to be the victim. I have had nine months of hell."
How sad for the little girl to be in the middle of this at Christmas - do you agree?