Bradford's Muslim leaders have welcomed the release of a teacher who was jailed in Sudan after letting her class name a teddy bear Mohammed.

Gillian Gibbons, 54, of Liverpool, was given a presidential pardon today having served four days of a 15-day sentence she received for blasphemy. She was arrested on November 25 and accused of insulting Islam.

Conservative peer Baroness Warsi and Labour peer Lord Ahmed had been lobbying for the early release of Mrs Gibbons since arriving in the country on Saturday.

The British Muslim politicians had a number of meetings with Sudanese government officials and met President Omar al-Bashir to plead for her release.

In Bradford, Councillor Khadim Hussain, the regional co-ordinator of the British Muslin Forum, welcomed the decision and he called for more efforts to be made so this kind of misunderstanding does not happen again.

He said: "It shouldn't have happened in the first place. I believe the teacher did what she did unknowingly rather than with any intent.

"I welcome her release and the role our Muslim peers played in that. The responsibility rests with the Sudanese government to regulate schools and to make sure teachers recruited from abroad receive a proper induction."

Dr Abdul Bary Malik, president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association, told the Telegraph & Argus: "It's wonderful news she has been pardoned, released and is on her way home.

"I think a few lessons have been learned - for example, if you are going to work and live in a foreign country you must make efforts to learn the dos and don'ts, particularly in relation to cultural and religious sensitivities.

"Hers was an innocent mistake - she should not have been sent to prison."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in a statement: "Common sense has prevailed.

"Through the course of Ms Gibbons's detention I was glad to see Muslim groups across the UK express strong support for her case.

"I applaud the particular efforts of Lord Ahmed and Baroness Warsi in securing her freedom."

Dr Khalid al-Mubarak, of the Sudanese Embassy in London, said: "I am overjoyed.

"She is a teacher who went to teach our children English and she has helped a great deal and I am very grateful.

"What has happened was a cultural misunderstanding, a minor one, and I hope she, her family and the British people won't be affected by what has happened.

"The demonstrations were an argument from the fringe. I hope for the best relationship with Britain in the months ahead."

The teacher released a statement at the weekend saying she had been "well treated" during her incarceration. She was being held at a secret location in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, amid fears for her safety as thousands of protesters gathered on Friday to demand she face a harsher sentence.

In a statement after her pardon, Mrs Gibbons said: "I have a great respect for the Islamic religion and would not knowingly offend anyone. I am looking forward to seeing my family and friends, but I am sorry I will never unable to return."

She was taken to the British Embassy after her release and was last night preparing to fly home.

Lord Nazir Ahmed, who helped to broker the deal securing Mrs Gibbons' pardon, said the case was an "unfortunate misunderstanding" and stressed Britain respected Islam. He said he hoped relations between the countries had not been damaged. A spokesman said President al-Bashir insisted Mrs Gibbons had a "fair trial", but agreed to pardon her because of the efforts by the Muslim delegation from Britain.