A Balham businessman languishing in a Dubai jail suffered a blow on Friday when a campaign to grant him an Eid pardon failed.

Supporters of Safi Qurashi, 41, held a protest outside the United Arab Emitates embassy last week to ask for his release.

They hoped he might be one of the prisoners freed to honour the Muslim festival, which marks the end of Ramadan.

But to their surprise, this year no Eid pardons were granted by the emirate.

The property tycoon, who went to Dubai in 2004, was prosecuted after cheques he wrote bounced - a criminal offence in the strict Arab country.

The cheques were written as a “security” to guarantee regular payments, which is standard business practise in Dubai.

His family have always maintained he was wrongly convicted, after a trial lasting only a few minutes.