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Hit-and-run drunk driver wins fight against deportation despite death crash

Hit-and-run drunk driver wins fight against deportation despite death crash

Scottish Sun4 days ago
Immigration judges have blocked his removal despite hearing his offending had escalated
A HIT-AND-RUN drink-driver who caused the death of a pedestrian has won his fight against deportation to Lithuania.
Sergejus Aksiotovas, 54, pictured above, came to Britain in 2013 and lived in Wolverhampton before being jailed for five years in 2021 after knocking down a 63-year-old man.
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The Home Office sought to deport him but immigration judges have blocked his removal despite hearing his offending had escalated.
Aksiotovas, a dad released from prison on licence in November 2023, had a previous conviction for being in charge of a vehicle with excess alcohol.
The Home Office argued an immigration judge did not adequately take into account the risks he posed.
But legal documents stated: 'The judge accepted he is genuinely remorseful, that he completed an alcohol awareness programme in prison and that he has abstained from alcohol for the last four years.
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"The judge also accepted that he is a man who is willing to learn from his mistakes and rehabilitate."
It comes after Home Office ministers were slammed for being unable to say how many foreign criminal deportations are being blocked by European human rights laws.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has vowed to tighten the laws following a massive backlash against foreign offenders dodging deportations on spurious ECHR grounds.
Last month a man was seen fleeing across Heathrow Airport tarmac after fleeing security guards ahead of a deportation flight.
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Convicted drink-driver Sergejus Aksiutovas has had his deportation blocked by immigration judges
Credit: West Midlands Police
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Asylum seekers are using taxpayer handouts to fund their gambling habits: More than 6,000 migrants used government-issued cards loaded with £50 a week at betting shops and casinos in past year
Asylum seekers are using taxpayer handouts to fund their gambling habits: More than 6,000 migrants used government-issued cards loaded with £50 a week at betting shops and casinos in past year

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Asylum seekers are using taxpayer handouts to fund their gambling habits: More than 6,000 migrants used government-issued cards loaded with £50 a week at betting shops and casinos in past year

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Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp described the 'shocking' figures as 'an insult to taxpayers'. 'These people have illegally entered this country without needing to – France is safe and no one needs to flee from there,' he said. 'The British taxpayer has put them up in hotels and now they slap us in the face by using the money they are given to fund gambling. These illegal immigrants clearly don't need the money they are given if they are squandering it at casinos and arcades. 'Labour has lost control of our borders with record numbers for illegal immigrants crossing the Channel this year. The number in asylum hotels has gone up since the election and now we learn of this insult to British taxpayers. 'Everyone illegally crossing the Channel should be immediately removed to their country of origin or a safe third country in order to deter these crossings.' So-called Aspen cards are issued to asylum seekers while they wait to have their claims dealt with – a process that can take months, or even years. Those in self-catered accommodation receive £49.18 on the card each week to pay for 'clothes and footwear, non-prescription medicines, travel, food, non-alcoholic drinks, toiletries, laundry, toilet paper and communications'. The cards are currently issued to around 80,000 individuals who are waiting for a decision on whether they have a valid claim to stay in the UK. Many are living in hotels at the taxpayers' expense. The Home Office is able to track where the cards are used but does not block payments for particular types of transaction. The figures reveal that significant numbers of asylum seekers are now using the cards to gamble. The Home Office figures break down how many asylum seekers attempted to use their cards in gambling venues each week. They do not record how many times each individual attempted to use their card in that week. They show that an average of 125 asylum seekers a week used their cards with 'gambling-related merchants'. Dozens used the cards every week, with 177 using them to gamble in Christmas week when many venues are closed. The figures peaked at 227 in one week at the end of November last year. The Aspen cards use a chip and pin system so cannot be used for contactless payments or online. A Home Office source insisted it was 'not possible' to use the cards to directly place a bet. However, the data is understood to include withdrawals made from cash machines inside venues such as amusement arcades and casinos – where gambling is the sole focus. Paul Bristow, Tory mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, suggested gambling by asylum seekers at the taxpayers' expense may even be fuelling the growth of the industry. 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Public anger is already mounting over the policy of accommodating tens of thousands of asylum seekers in hotels across the country, with angry protests erupting in recent days in Epping, in Essex, Diss in Norfolk and Canary Wharf, in London. The Aspen cards were introduced to provide basic subsistence for asylum seekers who are not legally allowed to work or claim benefits in most cases. But ministers are increasingly concerned at evidence of illegal working by asylum seekers, which may allow some to treat their taxpayer-funded handouts as pin money. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has ordered a clampdown on illegal working this week following a string of reports about asylum seekers earning money in the gig economy with delivery firms such as Deliveroo and Just Eat. In some cases, delivery bikes bearing the firms' logos have been seen parked outside asylum hotels. 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Fury as over 6,000 migrants use pre-paid cards loaded with £50 a week funded by YOU at betting shops & casinos
Fury as over 6,000 migrants use pre-paid cards loaded with £50 a week funded by YOU at betting shops & casinos

Scottish Sun

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  • Scottish Sun

Fury as over 6,000 migrants use pre-paid cards loaded with £50 a week funded by YOU at betting shops & casinos

Shadow Home Secretary brands finding a 'slap in the face' for British taxpayers MIGRANTS' BET SPREES Fury as over 6,000 migrants use pre-paid cards loaded with £50 a week funded by YOU at betting shops & casinos Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) OVER 6,000 migrants have used government-issued cards loaded with £50 a week at betting shops and casinos. Pre-paid cards given out to pay for basics including food and clothing were used in gambling venues, Home Office data reveals. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Thousands of migrants have used government-issued cards loaded with £50 a week at betting shops and casinos Credit: Getty In the last year, up to 6,637 asylum seekers have used taxpayer handouts to fund their gambling habits. At the highest incidence, 227 asylum seekers attempted to use or successfully used the cards to gamble in a week last November. While attempts to gamble online using the cards had been made, they were blocked each time so they were forced to use them in physical sites. There are currently around 80,000 ASPEN card users in the UK. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told PoliticsHome: 'It is shocking that over 6,000 illegal immigrants have attempted to use hard-working British taxpayers' money to gamble. "They have illegally entered this country without needing to – France is safe, and no one needs to flee from there. 'The British taxpayer has put them up in hotels, and now they slap us in the face by using the money they are given to fund gambling. 'These illegal immigrants clearly don't need the money they are given if they are squandering it at casinos and arcades.'

Fury as over 6,000 migrants use pre-paid cards loaded with £50 a week funded by YOU at betting shops & casinos
Fury as over 6,000 migrants use pre-paid cards loaded with £50 a week funded by YOU at betting shops & casinos

The Sun

time7 hours ago

  • The Sun

Fury as over 6,000 migrants use pre-paid cards loaded with £50 a week funded by YOU at betting shops & casinos

OVER 6,000 migrants have used government-issued cards loaded with £50 a week at betting shops and casinos. Pre-paid cards given out to pay for basics including food and clothing were used in gambling venues, Home Office data reveals. 1 In the last year, up to 6,637 asylum seekers have used taxpayer handouts to fund their gambling habits. At the highest incidence, 227 asylum seekers attempted to use or successfully used the cards to gamble in a week last November. While attempts to gamble online using the cards had been made, they were blocked each time so they were forced to use them in physical sites. There are currently around 80,000 ASPEN card users in the UK. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told PoliticsHome: 'It is shocking that over 6,000 illegal immigrants have attempted to use hard-working British taxpayers' money to gamble. "They have illegally entered this country without needing to – France is safe, and no one needs to flee from there. 'The British taxpayer has put them up in hotels, and now they slap us in the face by using the money they are given to fund gambling. 'These illegal immigrants clearly don't need the money they are given if they are squandering it at casinos and arcades.'

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