My daughter was taken abroad by her father fourteen months ago. The authorities know where she is, so why haven’t they brought her home?

A panicked mother whose daughter was taken abroad by her father 14 months ago has hit out at a row after failing to take action to bring her home – even though her whereabouts are known.

Natalie Kennedy’s daughter Alice, six years old, is currently staying in hotels in Dubai with ‘fugitive’ father Philip Thomas, who defied 13 High Court orders to bring her home and was jailed in his absence for refusing to comply. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Ms Kennedy, assisted by a mediator who is trying to negotiate with Mr Thomas, said they have managed to track down the whereabouts of the father and daughter.

The information has been passed to authorities in the United Arab Emirates, but Ms Kennedy says she has been told they cannot act unless they receive a request from British officials.

However, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has refused to intervene, saying this is a matter for Dubai authorities.

Natalie Kennedy is pictured with a photo of her daughter Alice, aged six

Alice was taken abroad by her father fourteen months ago and has not returned

Ms Kennedy told The Daily Mail: ‘I have always been taught to respect the authorities in charge, the government, the police etc. I’m afraid my trust in the system has been broken.

‘I feel completely rejected by the government, despite being someone who has worked all my life and been a hard-working and law-abiding citizen.

‘I believe the government does not care enough about children to protect them from being kidnapped by their parents.

“Alice has been sidelined and anyone who refuses to help, who has the power to help, is enabling parental child abduction.”

Ms Kennedy said officials are not considering the “lasting effect this will have on Alice” – who is now missing a second year of school.

She added that the situation “is not being taken seriously, even with an arrest warrant and a prison sentence.”

“How can someone be locked up in Pentonville Prison for 12 months and no one will help because the police haven’t issued a warrant?”

Mediator Miceal O’Hurley, who has tried to convince Mr Thomas to hand over Alice, accused British officials of “abject failure”.

Natalie Kennedy, from Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk, pictured with her daughter Alice before being taken to Dubai

He claimed that the State Department officials he spoke to were unaware of a 2006 bilateral agreement and a 2008 extradition treaty that could have allowed action to be taken.

Mr O’Hurley said: ‘There has been a deplorable failure on the part of the FCDO to assist Mrs Kennedy.

“First, the FCDO claimed that there were no treaties with the UAE that would allow them to assist Mrs. Kennedy in retrieving her child.

‘(In September) I presented details of a 2006 bilateral agreement they signed with the UAE and its existence surprised them.

“Then the same applied to the 2008 extradition treaty with the UAE (which) I brought to their attention.

“They (the FCDO) claimed they were not aware of it either. God only knows what happens within the FCDO, but if Mrs Kennedy’s case was any indication, it would explain why Britain has such a very poor record in retrieving young British children who are abroad kidnapped, compared to other governments that take these matters seriously.’

Thomas, 54, took daughter Alice on an arranged holiday to Florida but then flew her to Dubai, where the couple have remained ever since, moving between hotels.

Ms Kennedy, 44, had met Thomas through an unregulated co-parenting website, where single people agree to have children without being in a relationship.

Miss Kennedy used the website because she wanted to have children and was concerned about her biological clock.

Thomas, 54, took daughter Alice on an arranged holiday to Florida but then flew her to Dubai where the couple have remained ever since, moving between hotels

She said she wanted to “start a family before it was too late” and while she “didn’t want a partner,” she wanted a man who wanted to “have some involvement in our child’s life” rather than just use a sperm donor. .

But relations between the school lunch lady, who raised Alice, and IT professional Thomas soured, resulting in family court hearings and imposed access regulations.

The legal saga against Thomas continued at the High Court Family Division in July, when Madam Judge Emma Arbuthnot issued the final order for Alice’s safe return.

Supreme Court judges have described the case as ‘child abduction’.

The father has been condemned for his ‘serious and egregious’ conduct by former Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland KC, as Alice’s mother said she fears she will ‘never see her again’.

Miss Kennedy, from Gorleston-on-Sea, near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, has been helped in Dubai by US private detective agency Intertect Global in her efforts to track down Thomas.

She said: ‘To me she was everything and I just loved her. If the authorities can’t track her down, there’s a chance I’ll never see her again.”

Former Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland KC called on officials to investigate whether the UK’s extradition treaty with the United Arab Emirates could be invoked against Thomas.

He said: “This is a serious and blatant breach of repeated orders. It is also questionable whether there will be a criminal investigation.

“There is an extradition treaty with the United Arab Emirates that came into force in 2008 and there is a process that needs to be looked at.

‘It is clear that a case like this threatens to bring the system into disrepute. Every effort must be made to hold this person accountable and, most importantly, for the care and well-being of a five-year-old child.”

Miss Kennedy’s lawyer, Anthony Argyrou, praised his client for “showing indomitable perseverance to return her vulnerable daughter to the home she needs.”

A series of High Court Family Court judges have treated the case as ‘child abduction’, but Thomas has ignored court orders despite the threat of a fine, jail or seizure of assets.

Thomas, from Hertfordshire, has set up his own website FairParentingUK and an associated podcast, which he uses to campaign against what he sees as injustice in Britain’s family courts. He has made a series of accusations against Miss Kennedy and said he will only return “with safeguards” to guarantee access.

At an earlier hearing at the High Court in February, Thomas appeared to show little emotion as he appeared via video link, with Judge Cusworth warning: ‘Playing with Alice as a pawn is not in her best interests.’

The judge – who handed Thomas a 12-month prison sentence, which would be suspended if he brings Alice home in March – said: ‘We must ensure that he can come to this country with Alice soon – for his sake, for her sake . and for the mother’s sake. He can’t stay on the run with Alice forever.’

At the hearing in February, Thomas’ lawyer, Edward Bennett, said: “He is willing to return in March if progress is made in mediation.”

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office would only say: ‘We are supporting a British woman in Dubai and are in contact with local authorities.’