The mother of a British primary school teacher murdered in Qatar four years ago has spoken of her relief after the killer had his death sentence upheld.

Badr Hashim Khamis Abdullah Al-Jabar was found guilty by a court in Doha in 2014 of killing Lauren Patterson, 24, in the Gulf state a year earlier.

His accomplice Muhammad Abdullah Hassan Abdul Aziz was jailed for three years for reportedly helping burn the body of the Briton, originally from Chislehurst, in south-east London.

Miss Patterson had been working at the Newton British School in the Qatari capital.

She disappeared in Doha on October 12, 2013. Local media reported at the time that she was last seen outside the city’s five-star La Cigale hotel.

On Sunday, an appeal court in Qatar upheld the death penalty, a spokesman at the Foreign Office said.

In a statement on Wednesday, her mother Alison said the family remained devastated but felt justice had been done.

She said: “Following Sunday’s court hearing, I am feeling very emotional but relieved that the trial is now over.

“The family remain devastated by the senseless and tragic events of October 2013, but due to the thoroughness of the judicial process in Qatar we now feel that justice has thankfully prevailed for Lauren.