Gunmen who killed WPC were already on bail

Last updated at 22:00 22 December 2006


Two of the armed robbers who killed policewoman Sharon Beshenivsky were on police bail at the time, it has emerged.

Muzzaker Imtiaz Shah and Faisal Razzaq, both 25, had been arrested by another force on suspicion of firearms offences.

After being questioned, they were freed on bail - never to be heard from again until the day PC Beshenivsky was gunned down on her daughter's 4th birthday.

The blunder was revealed yesterday as the killers were jailed. Further details cannot be reported for legal reasons. Shah and Somalian refugee Yusuf Jama, 20, were each given four life sentences and must serve a minimum of 35 years. They were told they may never be released.

PC Beshenivsky, 38, was shot dead and her colleague Teresa Milburn gravely injured as the raiders fled Universal Express travel agency in Bradford with £5,000 in November last year.

She left behind sons Samuel, 13, and Paul, eight, and daughter Lydia, now five.

Last night her husband Paul, 44, said: 'They are going to rot inside until they are 60 years old.

'That gives them plenty of time to think about what they have done. Every year, on November 18, I hope they think about my daughter trying to have a birthday on the anniversary of the day they killed her mother.'

Shah, who lives in the London area, had admitted murder, robbery and firearms offences. This week Jama was convicted of the same charges.

Lookout Razzaq was given two life sentences for manslaughter and robbery and must serve a minimum of 11 years while his 26-year-old brother Hassan was convicted of manslaughter.

He has not been sentenced yet. When the gang was led out after hearing their fates at Newcastle Crown Court yesterday,

Shah gave a defiant ganglandstyle 'salute' to friends in the public gallery, while Faisal Razzaq thumped his chest and Jama shrugged.

In a bid to secure a lighter jail term, Shah's QC Diana Ellis told the court of his great remorse and desire to visit PC Beshenivsky's grave to say 'sorry'.

PC Milburn, who is back at work, sobbed quietly as her 'impact statement' was read out by prosecutor Robert Smith, QC.

He told the court she had said: 'They could have just threatsionened us with the guns. That would have been enough.'

Sentencing, Mr Justice Andrew Smith said: 'Sharon Beshenivsky and Teresa Milburn were not only doing their duty but went beyond their duty. Both paid for their dedication, Sharon Beshenivsky with her life.'

Jama, of Small Heath, Birmingham, was given permission in 2000 to stay in Britain until 2007.

He repaid this act of humanity by notching up eight criminal convictions for cannabis posses-assault on a policeman - twice - and various counts of burglary and theft.

The Razzaqs, both of Forest Gate, East London, have robbed numerous shops.

Faisal has convictions for dishonesty, deception and robbery, and yesterday he was given two life sentences. Hassan will learn his fate next month.

A fifth man, Raza Ul-Haq Aslam, 25, will be retried after a jury cleared him of murder, manslaughter and firearms offences but failed to reach a verdict on robbery.

The 'architect' of the heist, Piran Ditta Khan, remains a fugitive, as does Jama's brother Mustaf, 26.

He is on the run in Somalia - reportedly slipping out through Heathrow Airport disguised as a Muslim woman in a veil.

Speaking afterwards, PC Milburn said of the attack: 'I can remember every second like yesterday and it is something that will never leave me. It is something I have to learn to live with.

'Sharon was lovely. She was a genuine, caring, compassionate person. She brought these qualities with her every single day. She was a professional, enthusiastic police officer and she made us laugh.'

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