The Foreign Secretary David Miliband has personally reassured the family of jailed British teacher Gillian Gibbons that he is doing “everything he can” to secure her release, it emerged today.

Mrs Gibbons’ is “bearing up very well” after being sentenced to 15 days imprisonment in Sudan for insulting Islam, her son John said.

Speaking outside his Liverpool home this morning, Mr Gibbons, 27, said he had spoken to his mother and told her the family missed her and loved her.

Mr Gibbons, who has been in close contact with his sister, Jessica, said: “We’re all in touch with each other and I spoke to my mum.

“We both feel a lot better about speaking to my mum.”

“It was nice to hear her voice. She’s bearing up very well. She sounded strong. I’m hoping to speak to her again today.”

Mr Miliband contacted the family last night to offer his support.

Mr Gibbons said: “The Foreign Office have been in touch with me all the time, and the Foreign Secretary rang me last night.

“He didn’t say much really, just to say they’re doing everything they can. He’s still trying.”

There are no plans for the family to travel to Sudan, Mr Gibbons said.

“I’m not going over there because we’re hoping it will be resolved sooner rather than later,” he said.

Mrs Gibbons, 54, was jailed by a Sudanese court on Thursday after allowing her class of seven-year-olds to name a teddy bear Mohammed.

Two Muslim peers have travelled to Sudan to begin a private bid for her release.

Lord Ahmed, a Muslim Labour peer, and Baroness Warsi, a Muslim Conservative peer, are hoping to meet President Bashir.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “Any efforts which complement the efforts which we are making to secure Mrs Gibbons’ release are very welcome.”

Lord Ahmed became the first Muslim peer in 1988, and earlier this year said he was “appalled” at the decision to give Salman Rushdie a knighthood.

In June 2007 Baroness Warsi was appointed Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion.

Mrs Gibbons does not want the situation to spark “resentment” towards Muslims, her son has said.

Disclosing her first reaction to her jail sentence, he told The Associated Press: “One of the things my mum said today was that ’I don’t want any resentment towards Muslim people’.

“She doesn’t want people using her and her case as something to stoke up resentment towards anyone, towards Sudanese people, towards Muslim people or whatever.

“You know, that’s not the type of person she is, that’s not what she wants.”

Mrs Gibbons was yesterday moved to a secret location for her own safety after thousands of weapon-wielding protesters gathered outside the presidential palace in Khartoum to demand a harsher sentence.

The perceived leniency incensed Sudan’s hard-line Muslim clerics - described as “hot heads” by one Sudanese official.

Massing in central Martyrs Square for an hour, the hordes burned pictures of Mrs Gibbons and chanted: “Shame, shame on the UK,” and “No tolerance: Execution,” and “kill her, kill her by firing squad”.

Riot police kept the mob, who had been ferried in on pick-up trucks after Friday prayers, from the presidential palace.

Dreadlocked protester Yassin Mubarak, swathed in green and carrying a sword, said: “It is a premeditated action and this unbeliever thinks that she can fool us?

“What she did requires her life to be taken.”

Most of the crowd did not believe Mrs Gibbons’ claim that she meant no offence to Islam.

During Friday sermons, the Muslim cleric at Khartoum’s main Martyrs Mosque denounced Mrs Gibbons, saying she intentionally insulted Islam.

“Imprisoning this lady does not satisfy the thirst of Muslims in Sudan,” said cleric Abdul-Jalil Nazeer al-Karouri, a well known hard-liner.

Addressing worshippers, he added: “But we welcome imprisonment and expulsion.

“This is an arrogant woman who came to our country, cashing her salary in dollars, teaching our children hatred of our Prophet Muhammad.”

Mrs Gibbons was moved from the Omdurman women’s prison near Khartoum, said her chief lawyer Kamal al-Gizouli shortly after visiting her to discuss the verdict.

He said: “They moved this lady from the prison department to put her in other hands and in other places to cover her and wait until she completes her imprisonment period.”

Adding that she was in good health, he said: “They want by hook or by crook to complete these nine days without any difficulties which would have an impact on their foreign relationship.”

Several hundred protesters converged on Unity High School, where Mrs Gibbons taught.

They chanted slogans outside the building, which is closed and under heavy security, then marched toward the nearby British embassy where they were stopped by security forces just two blocks away.

One of Mrs Gibbons’ lawyers said the protest could not have happened without government consent.

Mrs Gibbons, of Aigburth, Liverpool, is eight days away from being deported to the UK.

Dr Khalid al-Mubarak, of the Sudanese embassy in London, blamed the demonstrations on “hot heads” from “hard-line” mosques.

He said: “There are many mosques and different groups congregating in different mosques.

“After prayer, people in particular mosques, not the mainstream, were the ones shouting the slogans to this effect.”