Author Archives: HM Government

The Court of Appeal has today increased the sentence of Manchester man, Nadeem Muhammed who was convicted of trying to take an improvised explosive device onto a plane.

On 30 January 2017, Muhammed was stopped by security staff at Manchester International Airport on his way to Bergamo in Italy. A small pipe bomb was found in the zipped lining of his carry-on suitcase, which he was planning on detonating on the plane.

Muhammed, 43, was convicted at Manchester Crown Court in August of possessing an explosive with intent to endanger life or property and was sentenced to eighteen years imprisonment with an extended licence period of five years.

Following a referral by the Attorney General Jeremy Wright QC MP under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme, the Court of Appeal has today increased Muhammed’s sentence to one of 22 years with an extended licence period of 5 years.

Speaking after the hearing, the Attorney General said: “This is a very disturbing case that could have had a devastating impact.

“I am pleased that the Court of Appeal has sent a strong message, that this type of offending merits very significant sentences.”

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We have developed electronic versions of the EC Claim1 forms for providers to use when submitting escape case claims for controlled work matters.

These forms are web based and:

• make the completion and submission process simpler and quicker
• reduce the chances of the form being rejected

Does this affect processing of work?

There are no changes to the way this category of work is processed. The electronic forms provide a more efficient way to submit the claim, which providers should find more convenient.

Although no changes to the assessment process are being made the current Word based versions of the form will eventually be withdrawn.

Using digital escape case claim forms will then be mandatory for submitting your claims for controlled work.

Important to learn new process

We recommend that providers begin to familiarise themselves with the process for submitting digital claims before the paper option is withdrawn.

There are separate electronic claim EC Claim1 forms for these escape case categories:

• civil
• mental health
• immigration and asylum

Once the form is completed providers should use the submit button so that the form can be assessed. You can find a link to the new forms below.

Submitting your case file

Paper case files should be submitted to the usual escape cases postal address.

The assessment will be completed and results issued to you in the same format as at present.

Electronic case files should be placed in a secure cloud based system and details of how to access the account included in the relevant section of the electronic EC Claim1.

Assessment of the claim will then be completed without the need for a paper case file. We will then email you with the assessment result.

Further information

Escaped cases – online portal – to download digital form for the appropriate category

mhu-ec@legalaid.gsi.gov.uk – email for advice on using electronic claim forms 0151 235 6750 – urgent enquiries only

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