Flight to freedom for elderly Brits slapped in jail by the Taliban

Emotional reunion as family 'overwhelmed with gratitude'

- By Stephen Beech

AN elderly British couple have been freed after being held by the Taliban for more than seven months.

Barbie Reynolds, 76, and her husband Peter, 80, had been detained in Afghanistan since February. Their relieved family said the release was “a moment of immense joy”.

The couple - who run an organisation called Rebuild, providing education projects — were moved in March to a top-security jail in Kabul and held separately without charge.

They were released and flown to Doha in Qatar yesterday following negotiations led by Qatari officials.

Barbie says the couple, who were married in Kabul in 1970 and have lived in Afghanistan for 18 years, still hope to return there one day.

She told Sky News at Kabul Airport: “We've been treated very well. We're looking forward to seeing our children.