London: A 34-year-old Briton, working with the United Nations, has been jailed for two months in the UAE for giving an airport worker "the finger" in Dubai, a news report said.

Paul Anthony allegedly got into a row with a female airport employee when she refused to let him use a customer services desk phone.

A Dubai court heard he "cursed" the Muslim woman in front of colleagues then thrust his middle finger in her face as he passed through border controls, leading British tabloid 'The Sun' reported.

He was arrested minutes after the woman lodged a complaint with the police. He was convicted of indecency and insulting the employee -- named in court as Maryam -- at a previous hearing.

However, he pleaded not guilty and launched an appeal yesterday, the report said.

Court sources said that Anthony worked for the UN and was planning a six-day stopover in Dubai en route from an Asian country. He was locked up for three days then bailed after the first hearing. He faces a month awaiting an appeal against a two-month jail term and deportation order.

A Dubai court source was quoted as saying, "Brits have often fallen foul of decency laws but no one's been arrested this quickly."

Tags: Arrested for cursing, Dubai Airport, helf for cursing woman