First British woman and her child repatriated to UK from Syrian camp

Children playing outside their tents at al-Hawl camp in al-Hasakah province, Syria. Many only know the squalid conditions of the camp. Photograph: Baderkhan Ahmad/AP

A British woman and her child have been repatriated from a Syrian camp, the first time an adult has been allowed to come back to the UK from detention since the end of the ground war against Islamic State.

The Foreign Office said that British policy to those held in Syria remained unchanged, and that it considered requests for help on “a case by case basis”, but campaigners said it was a significant first step.