A pregnant British woman accused of smuggling drugs in Laos could serve her sentence in the United Kingdom if she is convicted after a deal was struck this afternoon.

David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, signed a prisoner transfer agreement with the Laos Government at a meeting today.

Samantha Orobator, 20, of South London, has been held in jail in the South-East Asian country since last August after she was allegedly caught with 1.5lb (680g) of heroin at Wattay airport. She faces a maximum sentence of the death penalty.

A spokeswoman for the legal charity Reprieve welcomed the agreement. “It is great news but we are still concerned that it is enacted early enough for Samantha to come home while she is still fit to travel,” she said.

Ms Orobator was born in Nigeria but lived with her aunt in Camberwell and Peckham from the age of 8. She left the country to travel to Ireland, the Netherlands and Thailand and is understood to have been arrested in Laos on her way back to Britain.

A British embassy spokesman in Bangkok said that British diplomats first visited Ms Orobator on August 14, within a week of being notified of her arrest, and had returned several times since. The embassy has not received official confirmation of her trial date.

Her supporters are deeply concerned about her welfare because she appears to have fallen pregnant while in Laos's notorious Phonthong prison.

Bill Rammell, a Foreign Office minister, said that he had conveyed the British Government’s concerns to Thongloun Sisoulith, the Deputy Prime Minister of Laos, during a meeting in London today.

“I pressed our concerns on behalf of Samantha with the Deputy Prime Minister. He said the Lao authorities understood the need for Samantha to receive good medical and nutritional care,” he said.

“I was encouraged that Samantha has now been provided with a local lawyer, who is working with the UK barrister from Reprieve.

“Dr Sisoulith also assured me that a pregnant woman would not receive a death sentence. I would like to thank the Lao authorities for this commitment and reiterate that we oppose the death penalty in all cases.

“The Deputy Prime Minister told me that the Lao Government would consider Samantha eligible for transfer to the UK to serve out any sentence once the prisoner transfer agreement comes into effect. We will continue to pay close attention to this case as it comes to trial.”

“We are concerned about her health and we want access to her to look after her, both in terms of her health and as an independent counsel.”

Phonthong prison, where Ms Orobator is being held, has a reputation for beatings and brutality. Cells measuring 4sq m house up to six prisoners.

The daily ration reportedly consists of two bowls of pig-fat water soup and a bowl of sticky rice, with most prisoners relying on their families to deliver food. Prisoners have reported incidents of abuse and torture, with some inmates having their genitals burnt.

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