G4S Guards Cleared Over Deportee Death

Three security guards have been cleared of manslaughter over the death of a deportee on a plane at Heathrow airport.

The former G4S custody officers, Terrence Hughes, Colin Kaler and Stuart Tribelnig, were on trial over the death of Angolan man Jimmy Mubenga.

They were accused of forcing Mr Mubenga's head down and restricting his breathing for 36 minutes as the flight prepared for take off.

By the time crew raised the alarm on 12 October 2010 Mr Mubenga had gone into cardiac arrest. He died later in hospital.

Some passengers said they had heard him crying out for air but the guards denied the claims.

The three men were in tears as the not guilty verdict was read out at the Old Bailey.

Mr Mubenga, who had been in the UK since 1994, was in the process of applying for permission to stay permanently when it was decided he should be deported after serving two years in jail for assault.

Prosecutors had claimed Mr Mubenga was already handcuffed behind his back and wearing his seatbelt after becoming agitated on the plane.

A section of the Boeing 777 with three rows of seats was reconstructed in court to help jurors understand the case.

Jurors were also invited to wear the handcuffs to experience how Mr Mubenga might have felt.

One witness, Nicholas Herbig, from New Mexico, said the deportee had clearly been in distress and was "very loud".

He told the court: "He was saying 'All you people are watching them kill me. I can't breathe. They are going to kill me'."

But all three men denied doing anything wrong and said they had not used the "carpet karaoke" restraint.

The technique involves pushing a seated person's head forward, compressing their diaphragm to subdue them.

"He was never forced down with his head forced beneath his knees," said Terrence Hughes, who comes from Portsmouth.

Stuart Tribelnig, from Horley in Surrey, said he had not heard Mr Mubenga "say anything about air".

An inquest last year ruled that the 43-year-old was unlawfully killed and led to the CPS reconsidering manslaughter charges.

The jury in the criminal case was not told of the inquest verdict for legal reasons, or that two of the defendants - Hughes and Tribelnig - had "very racially offensive material" on their phones.

No charges were brought against security giant G4S after prosecutors decided there was not enough evidence.

A statement for the three men said: "They bitterly regret the death of Mr Mubenga but 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 have taken resolving these sad events."