UAE ordered to pay £260,000 to trafficking victim exploited by diplomat in London

The judge calculated the woman worked an average of more than 17 hours a day, was expected to care for the children and provide other domestic services and was not given rest days, lunch breaks or days off. Photograph: M Sobreira/Alamy

The United Arab Emirates must pay more than £260,000 to a victim of human trafficking who was exploited by one of its diplomats in London, the high court has ruled.

Lawyers representing the woman said it was unprecedented for a court to order a foreign state to pay for domestic servitude by a diplomat on UK soil.