Mrs Al Khatib said her children were the "most important thing"

Mona Al Khatib was initially awarded the record payout in March 2002.

But husband Dr Abdullah Masry, 56, did not pay and returned to Saudi Arabia with four of their five children.

After mediation at the Court of Appeal in London both parties agreed that the children will spend holidays with their mother but will live in Saudi Arabia.

'Hard work'

In a statement read out by lawyers outside court Mrs Al Khatib said being reunited with her children was "the most important thing".

The statement said: "She would like to say that the financial aspect of the litigation is, to her, insignificant compared to the resumption of her relationship with her children.

This is an outcome which reflects great credit on the generosity of both parents Lord Justice Thorpe

"She would also like to express her heartfelt thanks to the Court of Appeal, the mediators and her legal teams for all the hard work and determination in bringing about her happy reunion with her children."

Mrs Al Khatib, who was present at the hearing, will now get proceeds from the sale of the family's London home.

She can also use money from the sale of a villa in the South of France to set up a trust fund for herself and her children.

'Imprisoned'

In 2000 Dr Masry, a businessman, left the couple's London home taking their two daughters, then aged 16 and 13, with him to Saudi Arabia.

Two of the couple's three sons also live in Saudi Arabia.

In 2002 he was ordered to hand over properties in Europe and the US, as well as a �10m lump sum plus interest and a �2.5m "war chest" for Mrs Al Khatib's legal costs.

By May 2004 he still had not paid the money and high court judges said the two girls were being "imprisoned" in Saudi Arabia.

The judges told the couple to go into mediation after hearing how Dr Masry had defied orders from British courts to pay money or return the two girls.

Dr Masry, who was not present to hear the judgement, declared in a statement all members of the family "can now look forward to a happier and more settled way of life".

The statement read: "Dr Masry is personally pleased that his daughters have both chosen, with the full agreement of their mother, to continue to make their principal home with him in Saudi Arabia."

Lord Justice Thorpe, overseeing the judgement, said the settlement showed that children can be treated neither "as pawns nor possessions".

"It is only necessary to stress that this is an outcome which reflects great credit on the generosity of both parents," the judge told the court.