Cleaner jailed for East Midlands Airport bomb joke
10.06.06
A cleaner who said he planted a bomb at East Midlands Airport just days after the 7 July London bombings has been jailed for six months. Hazar Ali, 26, of Sparkhill in Birmingham admitted interfering in the performance of an aircraft crew member.
Nicola Moore, prosecuting at Leicester Crown Court, said Ali was completing his cleaning duties on board the plane when he made the claim. Ali told an air hostess he had put the device under a seat of an airbus on 12 July as a 'joke'. The plane was towed to a safe area of the airport and searched, delaying the flight by five hours.
Moore said four other Thomas Cook flights were affected and the company had to pay out for food and other items at a cost of £3639. Ali claimed his actions had been 'a bit of a joke'.
Sham Uddin, defending, said Ali, a father-of-two, had acted 'foolishly' and was of good character. Judge Peter Morrell told Ali it was his public duty to send out clear signals that such 'stupid, reckless conduct' would be punished. Ali was jailed for 6 months.
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