Wednesday 16 September 2009

Joined-Up Government: Part 347

The trial of a Pakistani student accused of causing two deaths in a road crash is going ahead despite his failure to return to the UK.

Syed Raza, 27, will be absent from the trial at Lincoln Crown Court as he is in Pakistan, a jury was told as it was sworn in on Monday.

He was allowed to fly out to his sick mother while on bail, but failed to return.
Well, isn’t that just typical?

But, wait!
Mr Raza's visa expired while he was in Pakistan and the Border Agency prevented his return to face trial on several occasions.
Say what…?

First, he’s allowed to fly out despite the authorities knowing that his visa is shortly to run out, and then, when it does, despite knowing he’s on bail, the UKBA refuse to let him back in?

Not once, either. Multiple times.
A judge ordered the Agency to allow his return and Lincolnshire Police paid £516 for his flight but Mr Raza failed to board the plane.
How did Lincolnshire Police ‘pay his flight’? Have a whipround?

Or do they really mean, taxpayers paid for his flight...?

Pavlov's Cat can't believe what he's reading either...

7 comments:

Pavlov's Cat said...

Being a tad cynical, I just wonder how many times he really tried to come back and did he try very hard including telling the BA why he needed to return.

Mark Wadsworth said...

You do wonder sometimes. But looking on the bright side, it will save us deporting the little f***er.

JuliaM said...

This is very true...

James Higham said...

Well that's reassuring - so I commit a crime, skip the country and let my pasport run out. Simple. Hmmm.

North Northwester said...

"Joined up government" mean anything to anyone out there?
One question - what do they think they've joined their elbow to, I wonder?

JuliaM said...

Heh!

Mark said...

In several European jurisdictions simply being a foreigner is enough to disbar you from being bailed, certainly for offences as serious as this. And several of these jurisdictions (think Italy re Romanian gypsy offenders) seem able to deport their foreign criminals without fuss. Yet these states are also meant to be signatories to the Human Rights Convention. Hmmm...
Half a century ago Brits used to think the legal systems of the Club Med countries were a bad joke- now the boot appears to be on the other foot!