
Hit-and-run drunk driver wins fight against deportation despite death crash
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.
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.
"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 spurious ECHR grounds.
Last month a man was seen fleeing across Heathrow Airport tarmac after fleeing security guards ahead of a deportation flight.
1
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Sun
28 minutes ago
- The Sun
Asylum seekers are still getting money on taxpayer-funded credit cards after being granted refugee status
ASYLUM seekers are still receiving money on taxpayer-funded credit cards even after being granted refugee status. A probe has been launched after we uncovered cases of migrants saying they were still getting the handouts - despite rules stating payments must stop once leave to remain is granted. It piles fresh pressure on the Home Office, which is already facing questions over the ASPEN card scheme after it emerged thousands of attempts were made to spend the cash in gambling venues. 1 One migrant wrote in a Facebook group: 'I was granted refugee status in January 2025. I'm still getting money on my ASPEN card… do I need to inform the Home Office or will it stop automatically?' Another user replied: 'I know someone else this happened to. But he had payments for a whole year. 'He did not touch the money as the Home Office could ask you to refund if you are not entitled to this.' Another admitted they are getting payments for dependants who have gone home. When asylum seekers arrive in the UK, they are typically housed in fully catered hotels and receive £9.95 a week on their ASPEN card, rising to £49.18 a week if they are later moved to self-catered accommodation. A Home Office spokesperson said: 'The Home Office rules state that – when an individual ceases to qualify for support – their subsistence payments will automatically end, and their card will be cancelled, after a short transitional period. 'As part of our investigation into the functioning of Aspen cards, we will look into any instances where cards have not been cancelled as intended, and take whatever action is necessary to correct any faults.' The Tories last night insisted it was 'further evidence' Labour has 'lost control of the immigration system'. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: 'We have seen luxury hotels provided for illegal immigrants, record ever numbers crossing the channel, rapes and sex offences being committed by asylum seekers, taxpayers' money being used to fund gambling by illegal immigrants and now we find they can't even switch the payment cards off when they should. 'This system has become a complete farce. No wonder it costs billions each year. It is an insult to taxpayers that illegal immigrants get better treatment than they do.' Reform UK's Richard Tice also let rip: 'We keep being told that there is no waste in government yet it's clear to see taxpayers are being taken for a ride by asylum seekers. 'The solution to this is simple. If you stop the boats, you stop the benefits and the enormous costs that are associated with illegal crossings. Only Reform will do this.' The wider investigation into ASPEN card misuse began earlier this week, after a Freedom of Information request by PoliticsHome revealed more than 6,500 gambling-related transactions had been attempted by asylum seekers in the past year. Although online gambling was blocked, migrants were able to use the cards in physical sites such as casinos, slot machine arcades and lottery retailers. In some cases, they withdrew cash in or near gambling venues. There are currently around 80,000 ASPEN card users in the UK.


Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Mandelson ‘called Epstein my best pal'
Lord Mandelson called Jeffrey Epstein 'my best pal' in a birthday message, according to reports. The Labour grandee, Britain's ambassador to the United States, is alleged to have written the message for a birthday album put together for the paedophile financier's 50th birthday in 2003. Recent reports have rocked Washington amid claims that Donald Trump, the US president, and Bill Clinton, the former president, also sent letters for the album. Mr Trump fiercely denied the claims, while Mr Clinton has not commented. The letter from Lord Mandelson, in which he called Epstein 'my best pal', featured photographs of a tropical island and whiskey, according to The Wall Street Journal. The album is said to have been examined by the justice department when it investigated the paedophile, who was charged with sex trafficking in 2019 and later killed himself in his Manhattan prison cell. It marks an embarrassing development for Lord Mandelson both in the US, where high-profile figures are under pressure over their association with Epstein, and in Britain, where Sir Keir Starmer has previously been urged to sever ties with the ambassador over the relationship. A spokesman for Lord Mandelson declined to comment on the allegations. Dinner parties and shopping trips Epstein appeared to maintain a 'particularly close relationship' with Lord Mandelson, whom he affectionately referred to as 'Petie', according to court documents released two years ago. A 2002 New York Magazine article listed Lord Mandelson as a dinner-party guest at Epstein's Manhattan home, along with Mr Trump and Mr Clinton. Photographs have shown Lord Mandelson and Epstein shopping for clothes in the Caribbean in 2005, in which the former Cabinet minister tries on a white leather belt, and celebrating a birthday at the financier's Paris apartment in 2007. Earlier this year, Lord Mandelson claimed the media had an 'obsession' about his relationship with the paedophile. 'I regret ever meeting him or being introduced to him by his partner, Ghislaine Maxwell. I regret even more the hurt he caused to many young women,' he said. He added: 'I'm not going to go into this. It's an… obsession and frankly you can all f— off. Ok?' Mr Trump is under mounting pressure to release all the documents held by the US government on Epstein. So far, his administration has refused to do so despite calls for transparency by some of the president's closest allies, splitting his support base in the process. 'A pal is a wonderful thing' For the birthday album, Mr Trump reportedly sent a letter imagining a cryptic conversation with his then-friend in which he said they had 'certain things in common' and featured a drawing of a nude woman in permanent marker. Mr Trump also reportedly wrote 'enigmas never age' and ended the message with the words: 'A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.' The president has denied writing or sending the letter, and is suing The Wall Street Journal for defamation over the report. However, Mr Trump's name is listed among dozens of Epstein's acquaintances who were asked to contribute birthday messages for the album, The New York Times reported. A White House spokesman described the story as 'fake news'. Mr Clinton is said to have praised Epstein's 'childlike curiosity' in a birthday message to the paedophile in 2003. A spokesman declined to comment to the newspaper. Democrats in Congress have written to the Epstein estate's executors asking for an un-redacted copy of the album. Its existence and contents have not been independently verified by The Telegraph. Brad Edwards, a lawyer for hundreds of Epstein's victims, said on Thursday: 'I know the executors of the estate are in possession of that book.'


Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
RAF base near Epping to house more migrants
The number of migrants being housed at a former RAF base close to the site of protests over asylum seekers in Essex is set to increase sharply, a council leader has revealed. MDP Wethersfield in Essex – which is 30 miles from the scene of confrontations over migrants being housed at a hotel in Epping – has been home to hundreds of single male asylum seekers since July 2023. Graham Butland, the Conservative leader of Braintree district council, said the authority was told last week that the number could rise from the current 800 men to 1,220. Cllr Butland told a council meeting on Monday that the Home Office was considering using its 'temporary surge capacity' to meet the demand of asylum seekers arriving in the UK. He said 'although no final decision has been made', numbers could rise 'as soon as next week'. This has led to local speculation that migrants from The Bell Hotel in Epping, where there have been frequent stand-offs between anti-migrant protesters and counter-protesters, could be moved to the former base. Any such move has been denied by the Home Office, which said the two locations were 'completely different issues'. The rise in the number likely to be housed at MDP Wethersfield comes as Epping district council said the Home Office must close The Bell Hotel and move the migrants out. Councillors voted unanimously on Thursday to urge the Government to close the hotel where protests have been held since July 13. The Epping protests were triggered when Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, a 38-year-old asylum seeker from Ethiopia, was charged with the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl. Mr Kebatu denied the charge when he appeared at Chelmsford magistrates' court on July 17. Later that evening, Essex Police was accused of escorting counter-protesters from Stand up to Racism to The Bell Hotel, where violent scuffles subsequently broke out. Police have made 18 arrests and charged seven people in connection with the Bell demonstrations. Essex Police said migrants staying at the hotel had been advised to remain indoors after 5pm and 'some had experienced verbal and physical harassment'. One resident had been chased and injured when returning to the hotel, and the premises had been daubed in graffiti, with windows smashed. Roger Hirst, Essex's police, fire and crime commissioner has urged Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, to review the use of the hotel for housing asylum seekers. James Cleverly, the Conservative former home secretary who represents Wethersfield in Parliament, has written to Ms Cooper asking her to 'urgently clarify the basis for this decision, the expected timeline, and how the Home Office intends to fulfil its obligations to the local authority and the local community going forward, especially in light of the current public concern and disorder just across the county in Epping'. In February, the Government increased the capacity at Wethersfield, which is six miles north-west of Braintree and was used as headquarters and training centre for the Ministry of Defence Police until 2022, from 580 to 800. Mark Ault, an independent councillor whose ward includes Wethersfield, told The Telegraph: 'It's inevitable there will be an increase in tension as a result of increasing the number of asylum seekers at the base – whether that's protests from the Left or the Right. 'Sir Keir Starmer has again reneged on his promise to close Wethersfield down and instead they are going to increase the numbers.' Nathan Robins, 19, interim chairman of Reform UK's Braintree branch, said: 'Unfortunately, when James Cleverly was home secretary, he allowed this [the location to be used] to go ahead. It's too late for him to be against it now, he should have been against it when he was home secretary. 'There are concerns about them being able to leave whenever they want – and they also get a free bus service. 'If you're an elderly resident and you don't get that treatment when you've been paying taxes all your life, it's just unbelievable. 'We need to start deporting people who come here illegally and leaving the ECHR to allow us to do that. Some residents who voted Labour have told me they will now never vote Labour again.' Mr Butland told councillors following the past week's disturbances in Epping that the utmost must be done 'to keep the temperature on this down and not exacerbate the situation'. The Home Office has said it is committed to providing a 'more sustainable and cost-effective asylum accommodation system', compared with the higher cost of housing asylum seekers in hotels. A spokesman said: 'The increase in capacity to 1,200 is for the short term and we intend to return it to 800 as soon as we can.' Whitehall sources said the Home Office has a legal obligation to meet the essential living needs of destitute asylum seekers and the Wethersfield site is designed to be as self-sufficient as possible. Sir Keir Starmer has refused to put a date on when the Government might stop placing asylum seekers at Wethersfield. A second police force was embroiled in a row this week over its escorting of anti-racism counter-protesters to a demonstration outside a migrant hotel. Footage showed officers from Hampshire Constabulary walking alongside activists in May to Potters International Hotel, a site in Aldershot housing asylum seekers and the location of regular anti-migrant demonstrations.