Two Muslim peers who have flown to Sudan to appeal for the early release of jailed British teacher Gillian Gibbons tonight said they were “hopeful” a resolution could be reached.

Baroness Warsi, the Tory spokesman on community cohesion, is in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, with Labour peer Lord Ahmed in a private bid to secure the freedom of Mrs Gibbons.

Last Thursday the teacher was sentenced to 15 days imprisonment by a Sudanese court for insulting Islam, blasphemy and inciting hatred, after allowing her class of seven-year-olds to call a teddy bear Mohammed.

The two peers had been scheduled to leave early tomorrow morning, but they announced tonight that they would stay on to continue talks with government officials about freeing the 54-year-old former primary school deputy head teacher from Liverpool. They have however still to be invited to meet the country’s hard-line president, Omar al-Bashir, who has the power to pardon Mrs Gibbons.

Speaking from Sudan tonight, Baroness Warsi said: “We will not be leaving tomorrow at 5am, some progress has been made."

Asked if she thought a resolution would soon be reached, she added: “I’m hopeful. There’s a huge amount of goodwill here, we want to keep building on that, and keep searching for a resolution.”

Baroness Warsi added that she had seen Mrs Gibbons again this morning. “We left her about half-an-hour ago,” she said. “She’s doing very well, we are telling her what is happening.”

Mrs Gibbons’ chief defence lawyer has said he expected her to be pardoned following the peers’ visit.

The British Ambassador has also visited Mrs Gibbons, spending just over an hour with her, the Foreign Office said.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “Mrs Gibbons has confirmed she is being treated well and is in a comfortable and secure environment. Mrs Gibbons’ welfare remains our priority and we will continue to provide full consular assistance for as long as Mrs Gibbons is detained.

“Government ministers and officials in London and Sudan are continuing to do everything they can to try to resolve this consular issue as quickly as possible through intense activity on a wide range of channels.”

He said that the visit of Lord Ahmed and Baroness Warsi was a valuable private initiative which complemented intense activity by ministers and officials.

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