Foreign Office : priority is to 'protect British national' following court case in Malaysia

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The legal process is a matter for the Malaysian courts and it would not be appropriate for us to comment. Our priority at this time is to support the British national and her family."

Hawkins appeared in court alongside three other defendants - Canadian siblings Lindsey and Danielle Petersen, and a Dutch man - following the mountaintop incident.

A magnitude-5.9 earthquake struck the 13,400ft-high mountain last Friday, killing 18 people and leaving hundreds more stranded.

Sabah state deputy chief minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan blamed the earthquake six days later on the travellers showing "disrespect to the sacred mountain".

The group of 10 tourists stripped naked before taking photos at the peak of Kinabalu on May 30.

Earlier, Hawkins' father said his daughter was sorry for any offence caused by her actions.

He said: "She knows what she did was stupid and disrespectful and is very sorry for the offence that she has caused the Malaysian people."

He added: "We hope that the Malaysian authorities deal with the misdemeanour and not link it to the unfortunate tragic events that occurred the following week."

Mr Hawkins criticised an arrested Canadian - named in reports as 33-year-old Emil Kaminski - who is said to have circulated the photos and posted offensive comments on social media.

He accused the "halfwit Canadian guy" of "stirring up a media storm".

Hawkins, who recently graduated with a masters from Southampton University, was in the middle of a gap year travelling around south-east Asia which began in January.