G4S custody officers cleared of killing father who was being deported on Heathrow plane

 
Jimmy Mubenga with his wife Adrienne; custody officers Colin Kaler; Terence Hughes; Stuart Tribelnig (Picture: PA)
Paul Cheston16 December 2014
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Three custody officers were cleared today of killing a father being deported on a Heathrow plane by restraining him in the dangerous technique known as “carpet karaoke.”

In a historic Old Bailey trial the three men employed by the Group 4 Securicor security firm were found not guilty of manslaughter by either an unlawful and dangerous act or gross negligence.

Jimmy Mubenga, 46, suffered a heart attack as the officers tried to restrain him as he was being deported from London in October 2010.

The not guilty verdicts come just a year after an inquest jury had found that he had been unlawfully killed.

After that verdict the Crown Prosecution Service charged Terence Hughes, 53, Colin Kaler, 52, and Stuart Tribelnig, 39, with manslaughter.

But before the Old Bailey trial Mr Justice Spencer ruled that the jury should not be told about the inquest verdict.

He also ruled inadmissible evidence presented at the inquest of racist texts being passed between the officers before the killing.

Hughes and Tribelnig had a string of racist "jokes" with Hughes's phone having 65 texts containing what was described at the inquest as "very racially offensive material".

In a highly unusual move the judge told the jury that they should not be “alarmed” when they read about the new evidence in reports of their not guilty verdicts.

“I had to rule on matters of law and that’s why you didn’t hear about it,” he said.

“The scope of the inquest was considerably broader than this trial.”

For the first time in a British court three rows of seats from a Boeing 777 was erected in the court to show the jury just how confined the space was in which Mr Mubenga died .

He was an Angola national who had been living in the UK with his wife and children "for a number of years."

The court heard he was being deported to the Angolan capital Luanda and had been fit, well and co-operative boarding the BA flight.

But trouble erupted after he was allowed to use the toilet and make a call on his mobile phone while the plane was still on the ground.

The officers claimed he was upset by the call and panicked so that they feared he might escape.

As a result he was handcuffed behind his back, strapped in by a seat belt and held down for more than 30 minutes.

One custody officer was either side of him and a third leaned over from the seat ahead as he bent forward, the jury was told.

The court heard “carpet karaoke” was a technique of pushing a seated person's head forward - compressing the diaphragm - to stop them spitting but company bosses had banned it.

But the defendants all said they had not used it themselves either before or on Mr Mubenga.

Passengers said they could hear him shouting: “Please let me go” and “you’re killing me, please help” as he struggled for breath.

But the defendants said they used “appropriate” force to restrain him, did not hear any cries for help and did not realise he was in acute distress.

As the plane taxied on the tarmac a medical emergency alert was sent to the control tower and the take-off was aborted.

Paramedics boarded the plane when it returned to its stand but it was too late to save him.

The defendants told the jury it was Mr Mubenga himself and not them who put him into the forward compressed position and he resisted their attempts to make him sit upright.

Hughes told jurors he had seen “carpet karaoke” work on two occasions but he denied he had ever done it himself.

The court heard it had been deemed by G4S as “malpractice”.

In a statement on behalf of the three custody officers, their solicitor Alex Preston said: “They bitterly regret the death of Mr Mubenga but they have always said they were trying to do a very difficult job in difficult circumstances to the best of their ability.

“They are grateful to the judge and jury for the care they took in resolving these events.”

A Home Office spokesman said: "Any death is a tragedy for those involved and our thoughts are with Jimmy Mubenga's family.

"We expect the highest standards of professionalism and conduct from our staff and contractors.

"Our policy has always been that restraint during removals should only be used as a last resort. Our new bespoke training package for aircraft removals, approved in June this year, will better equip our staff with practical tools to minimise the need for restraint and ensure that only the most appropriate techniques are used.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in