A British man convicted in the United Arab Emirates for spying said on Wednesday that his captors asked him to turn double agent against the UK government.

Matthew Hedges, a university researcher, was sentenced to life in prison on November 21 before being pardoned. In his first broadcast interview since returning, Hedges was asked on BBC radio whether he had been tortured and replied: "Psychologically, correct, yes." Hedges described being put in ankle cuffs whenever he left his cell to go to the bathroom.