Adeyemi Zubairu from Sierra Leone was arrested on 2 January after Palace of Westminster security staff spotted the poorly forged ID document while she working as a casual member of the catering team.
The 37-year-old Zubairu's role at the Despatch Box Café, which she secured through an external recruitment agency, saw her serve coffee to senior ministers, MPs and their guests.
According to Daily Mail, Zubairu insisted she had applied for the job in desperation for cash after her aunt, who still lived in her native country, contracted Ebola and needed medicine.
She was granted a suspended sentence yesterday, March 5th after a judge said she committed the crime for ‘honourable reasons’.
Speaking on the case, Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith said;
"Those who use counterfeit passports to evade immigration rules in this country go to prison for 12 to 18 months at least and those who use them to evade employment strictures for six to 12 months. I think this is one of those cases where I can be merciful and suspend the sentence."
Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith continued...
"You are an over-stayer, you came to this country in 2008 as a student, your visa expired in 2010, you married in 2014 and applied for leave to remain - that leave as it happens has now been granted. You were allowed to work for six months while your application for leave was considered and as part of that application you surrendered your valid Sierra Leonean passport which meant that you didn’t have it in your possession."
"You have a young sister in Sierra Leone and she was looked after by your aunt. Tragically your aunt fell ill from Ebola and obviously required treatment. That treatment cost money. She died on 30 October and I have seen the certificate."(continue....)
"Against that background you decided, against the advice of your husband, to try and get some work to try and get some money towards the medicine your aunt required and the upkeep your sister required. A friend gave you a forged passport - not a very good one, it had no less than 32 areas of discrepancy on it - and your friend allowed you to work for an agency pretending to be her."
"You both rather amateurishly stuck a photo of you on a photo that was already in that passport. It was pure chance it seems that led to you being employed at the Palace of Westminster. There came a time when you were required to produce some identification, you produced that counterfeit passport with that photo stuck on it and it was immediately recognized for what it was."
However, he also requested that a transcript of the sentence to be sent to security at the Palace of Westminster.
Meanwhile speaking at the court hearing, Zubairu, who was granted a student visa to enter the UK between 2007 and 2010 but overstayed. And married a Dutch national in January 2014 in ‘proxy’ wedding in Sierra Leone which neither party attended; wept as she told the court that her aunt - the sole financial supporter of her 13-year-old-sister - had died from Ebola leaving her struggling to find cash to send to Africa. She said ‘I didn’t care what job it was, all I wanted was something to earn some money."
Zubairu revealed the passport was given to her by her friend, also from Sierra Leone, who had registered to work with an agency under the false name Josephine Gibson. She later telephoned the agency also pretending to be Ms Gibson and was offered the job at the Palace of Westminster where she earned ‘not more than £600’ from the two-month stint, which she sent to her native country in small sums.
Source: Daily Mail"You both rather amateurishly stuck a photo of you on a photo that was already in that passport. It was pure chance it seems that led to you being employed at the Palace of Westminster. There came a time when you were required to produce some identification, you produced that counterfeit passport with that photo stuck on it and it was immediately recognized for what it was."
"You are not a person, I think for one moment, who naturally would commit a criminal offence but it was a criminal offence that you committed - a serious criminal offence. But I am satisfied you did so for honourable reasons."Judging it to be an ‘exceptional case’, Judge Nicholas gave Zubairu a six month sentence suspended for two years and ordered her to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work within 12 months.
However, he also requested that a transcript of the sentence to be sent to security at the Palace of Westminster.
Meanwhile speaking at the court hearing, Zubairu, who was granted a student visa to enter the UK between 2007 and 2010 but overstayed. And married a Dutch national in January 2014 in ‘proxy’ wedding in Sierra Leone which neither party attended; wept as she told the court that her aunt - the sole financial supporter of her 13-year-old-sister - had died from Ebola leaving her struggling to find cash to send to Africa. She said ‘I didn’t care what job it was, all I wanted was something to earn some money."
Zubairu revealed the passport was given to her by her friend, also from Sierra Leone, who had registered to work with an agency under the false name Josephine Gibson. She later telephoned the agency also pretending to be Ms Gibson and was offered the job at the Palace of Westminster where she earned ‘not more than £600’ from the two-month stint, which she sent to her native country in small sums.
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