'He should swing for this': Widow's fury as illegal immigrant who killed father-of-four in motorway crash is jailed for just two years

  • Malcom Anderson's widow says: 'He should swing for his crime because he is a murderer'
  • Iqbal Singh, 39, gave police false name after crash because he was on the run from the UK Border Agency
  • He will be deported at the end of his sentence
  • Singh pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving
  • He suffered heart attack after M6 crash and died at the scene

By Rob Cooper
PUBLISHED: 04:31 EST, 17 May 2012 | UPDATED: 05:56 EST, 17 May 2012


Death crash: Illegal immigrant Iqbal Singh, 39, was driving without a licence when he killed father-of-four Malcolm Anderson in a motorway accident

A widow has reacted with fury after an illegal immigrant who killed her husband in a motorway crash was jailed for just two years.

Van driver Iqbal Singh, who was on the run from the UK Border Agency, was driving without a licence when he crashed into Malcolm Anderson's car after falling asleep at the wheel.
The 54-year-old father-of-four suffered a heart attack and died at the scene after his car hit a concrete post on the M6 near Coventry.

Singh, 39, then gave police a false name and address to avoid being caught by immigration officers.
Mr Anderson's widow Deborah hit out after the Indian illegal immigrant was jailed at Warwick Crown Court.

She said: 'In my opinion he should swing for his crime because he is a murderer.
'Singh will walk free in a few months while we have been given a life sentence as we will never get my husband back.'
The defendant, who was driving a hired van, was also driving without insurance when he crashed into Mr Anderson's Ford Escort on December 17 last year.
Deborah, 50, and their son Jason, then aged 13, were in the car and were both badly hurt in the crash.
Deborah, who was cut free of the wreckage, spent four days in hospital with a punctured lung and cracked ribs.

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Jason suffered a broken nose, a damaged ankle and bruising to his lung.
Singh narrowly avoided hitting another car carrying the couple's three daughters Sarah, 23, Emma, 20, and Michelle, 18.

Final picture: Malcolm Anderson (right) at a relative's wedding hours before he was killed. He is pictured with (from left to right) his wife Deborah, daughter Sarah, 23, niece Laura Langbird who was getting married and daughters Emma, 20, and Michelle, 18. His son Jason, then 13, is also pictured (front)


Grief: Mr Anderson's widow Deborah who has hit out at Iqbal Singh's two-year sentence

Mrs Anderson added: 'Singh will walk free in a few months while we have been given a life sentence.
'Armed robbers sometimes get life because they use weapons. The van driven by Singh was the weapon used to kill my husband.
'We have a gaping hole in our lives and continue to go through unbelievable mental anguish. Not a day goes by without us all thinking of Malcolm.
'He was one in a million and a brilliant husband and father.'
The crash happened on the northbound carriageway of the M6 as the family returned to their home in Stechford, Birmingham, from a wedding.
Singh faces deportation to India at the end of his sentence

Judge Michael Cullum told Singh: 'You bear sole responsibility for the loss of a decent man.'
He added that there was a 'strong inference' the defendant fell asleep.
Singh, 39, of no fixed address, but who was living in Birmingham, admitted causing the death of electrician Mr Anderson by careless driving while having no licence or insurance.
He said at the scene that he had either shut his eyes for a second or taken his eyes off the road.
He was not injured in the crash.

After giving a false name he eventually admitted his true identity, explaining he was wanted by the UK Border Agency and had no driving documents either in this country or in India.

Injured: Deborah (centre) and her son Jason (right) were also hurt in the collision on the M6 near Coventry. Mrs Anderson is pictured here with her daughter Sarah

He had worked there as a taxi driver before coming to the UK in 2000.
Talbir Singh, defending, said Singh had expressed his remorse in letters to the judge and Mr Anderson's family.
The judge told the defendant: 'Your actions on December 17 robbed a family of the person who provided for them.
'Malcolm Anderson was a hard-working, decent and law-abiding man.
'You bear the sole responsibility for the loss of that decent man.'