Mother's fresh setback in battle to win her sons

A British mother fighting for custody of her five-year-old twin sons in Austria has been hit with a gagging order forcing her to remove all photos of the boys from her website and social media pages.

University lecturer Beth Alexander has spent the last four years fighting a battle with the Austrian courts to win custody of sons Sammy and Benji from her ex-husband.

An injunction issued last week by an Austrian court ordered Ms Alexander to remove all photos of the boys from her campaign website, as well as any pictures posted on her social media accounts. She is also forbidden from publicising details of the case. "The campaign will continue. I am very determined. They cannot get away with this injustice. It is not going to break us," said Ms Alexander.

Manchester-born Ms Alexander went through a bitter divorce with Vienna-based Michael Schlesinger, after which he won custody of their children.

She then launched an online campaign calling for support in her efforts to regain custody of the boys. The case has been widely covered by British media, and has been raised in the House of Commons.

She added: "I know the gagging order will not work. They cannot just silence me and make me disappear." Under current legal arrangements Ms Alexander is allowed to see her sons every Tuesday and for an overnight visit once every two weeks. She is appealing against the injunction.