A LABOUR councillor and her partner have been given immediate jail sentences after they were involved in a “prolonged and sustained attempt” to pervert the course of justice over a speeding offence.

Back in July 2020, Batley East councillor Fazila Loonat’s partner Afshin Amini was caught by a speed camera driving her Mercedes car at 39mph on Huddersfield Road, Dewsbury.

The road had a 30mph limit, but when Loonat received a notice of intended prosecution at their home in Church Walk, Staincliffe, the paperwork was returned to the authorities naming a “fictitious” driver with a bogus date of birth who was said to live at an address in Dewsbury.

Bradford Crown Court heard today that police checks could not find any trace of the alleged driver and when the address was checked it was found to be shop premises owned by Amini which had no accommodation space.

Prosecutor Nadim Bashir said a further “warning letter” was sent to Loonat asking her to reconsider her nomination, but she again filled in and signed the form with the same bogus details.

Mr Bashir said a formal investigation was launched by the police into the allegation of perverting the course of justice and he submitted that the couple were involved in a carefully planned and determined attempt to avoid the speeding fine and penalty points.

The court heard that following the speeding incident, Loonat posted an advert on eBay offering the Mercedes for sale, but the prosecution alleged that that was done to support the claim that the car had been taken out on “test drive” when it triggered the speed camera.

Mr Bashir said police officers visited Loonat at her home and gave her “a final opportunity” to provide the correct details and emphasised the serious nature of the investigation, but she would not relent.

Loonat, who was heavily pregnant at the time of the offending, eventually pleaded guilty to the pervert the course of justice charge when her case was listed for a trial in March this year.

The 43-year-old was today jailed for 14 weeks and her partner Amini, 34, was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison because he pleaded guilty to the charge back in November last year.

Mr Bashir submitted that Loonat had been the “lead individual” and she had been the architect of the offence.

But Recorder Benjamin Nolan KC said he took the view that the couple were equally liable for the commission of the offence and he came to the conclusion that immediate prison sentences were required for both of them.

Although he accepted that no innocent person could have been arrested because the named driver was fictitious he said there had been “total resistance” to a number of warnings given in plain and robust terms that they were getting themselves into trouble.

He said the advert on eBay had been “a sham” and there had been a “prolonged and sustained attempt” to pervert the course of justice.

Barrister Jayne Beckett, for Loonat, said as a Labour councillor, now suspended, she would face stigma in relation to her public role and her commission of this offending.

“She’s terrified of prison. She’s very tearful today and obviously distressed for her children,” said Mrs Beckett.

“This is a really huge and very sad fall from grace.”

Barrister Susannah Proctor, for Amini, said he was frightened at the prospect of going to prison and he had expressed genuine remorse for the offending.

She submitted he had played a lesser role and was not the prime mover.