A CHESHIRE businessman, arrested over the death of his girlfriend in a Paris hotel room, has lost his High Court battle against being extradited to France to stand trial for murder.
Ian Griffin, 41, faces charges over the killing of millionairess Kinga Legg.
Yesterday, a judge rejected his appeal against extradition and warned “the utmost care” should be taken to ensure he did not attempt suicide during his removal.
Lawyers for Griffin, from Warrington, had challenged a decision last December by District Judge Daphne Wickham at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court that he must return to France.
The battered body of 36-year-old Ms Legg was found by a maid in a bath in a £1,000-a-night suite at the exclusive Hotel le Bristol in May, 2009.
Griffin ran tanning salons and gadget shops in the north west of England and was declared bankrupt in 2006.
Polish-born Ms Legg lived in Knutsford and had businesses listed in Cheshire.
She owned international company Vegex, which supplied Tesco and other supermarkets with tomatoes.
District Judge Wickham said Griffin was addicted to alcohol and prescription drugs, and suffered with depression, anxiety and mood swings. He had also self-harmed on many occasions.
Judge Wickham ordered extradition despite his taking a drug overdose on November 18 which led to him being treated at St George’s Hospital, in Tooting, south London, for kidney problems. Because of the overdose, he did not attend the extradition hearing. His lawyer, Matthew Butt, asked for the case to be adjourned because of his inability to attend, but the judge dismissed the application.
Yesterday, Mr Justice Collins, sitting at London’s High Court, ruled Judge Wickham had acted lawfully and was correct to decide that further delay was unreasonable.
He declared it would not be “unjust or oppressive” for extradition to go ahead.
The judge said medical evidence established that Griffin was suffering from a depressive illness and the overdose was a result of stress. Stress was likely to build up whether he faced trial in the UK or France, said the judge.
