Worcester boxing coach jailed for people smuggling in France

Jonathan Shaw, from Worcester, was caught transporting six Iraqi migrants, including three children, in Dunkirk, France, according to the French newspaper La Voix Du Nord.

The paper reported that Shaw, aged 28, and Benjamin Thomas, from Birmingham, were carrying the Iraqis in a van.

The article added that the migrants were told to pay €8,000 each for the trip, however Shaw and Thomas denied their involvement.

They claimed they were in the area to visit the beaches featured in the blockbuster film Dunkirk.

Despite this, the two men were convicted and jailed for six months on September 17.

Dan Richards, the owner of Trojan Worcester, a mixed martial arts centre on Shrub Hill Industrial Estate, says Shaw will not be invited back to teach at his gym.

He added: "I'm all for giving people a second chance. But there's only so many chances I'm willing to give."

Mr Richards said he knew Shaw had a previous conviction but allowed him to use the gym regardless.

The owner has now removed Shaw's name from the company's website and social media pages.

He added: "I was aware that he had travelled to France. There were rumours that he had gone missing as no one had heard from him.

"Then I heard - I think on Tuesday last week - that he had been arrested and then the detail came out.

"His actions are his own and nothing to do with the gym. He's self-employed and contracted to do boxing lessons with us.

"We don't organise his one-to-one lessons. I allow him to do those out of our facilities."

He also said that any of Shaw's customers who are seeking a refund will have to contact the trainer directly - and not the gym.

Shaw was previously jailed for seven weeks for committing affray at the Bush Inn, in Worcester, in 2015.

When he was convicted, he was already serving time in prison for attempted tax evasion.

La Voix Du Nord reported that Shaw and Thomas, aged 30, were caught in the early hours of September 14.

The newspaper stated that the pair were in the front seats of a Volkswagen van that picked up six Iraqi migrants, including three children aged 10, eight and one.

They were spotted by border police and were later arrested, although the two men denied their involvement, according to La Voix Du Nord.

The article added that after Thomas was arrested he kept missing calls from a people smuggler whose number was also found on one of the migrants' phones.

Shaw uploaded a Facebook video of himself shadow boxing on a beach, believed to be in Dunkirk, on September 13.

The caption for the video states: "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender. -Churchill- Dunkirk."

A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “We are assisting a British man who has been arrested in Dunkirk, and our staff are in contact with his family and the French authorities.”

Prisoners Abroad, a charity which helps British citizens locked up overseas, said it could not comment on individual cases, however it did raise concerns about overcrowding in some French prisons.

A spokesman added: "For those detained in France, we have caseworkers who speak French and are able to help overcome the language barrier for prisoners and their families.

"Simple issues such as sending money, arranging a visit, sending clothes, become extremely complex when you don’t speak the language or understand the rules.

"We help people to navigate this system, and provide emotional and practical support throughout.

"Although people will be provided with basic toiletries on arrival and with regular meals, we see that a lot of prisoners do rely on family and friends to support them financially to supplement what is provided by the prisons."

A spokesman for Robin Walker, Worcester's MP, said he had not been contacted by Shaw or any of his representatives in relation to the case.

They added: "If Mr Shaw or someone acting on his behalf does make contact then we will raise this through the appropriate channels."