An alleged rapist who left the UK after being freed from prison accidentally has said he cannot return for his trial after being injured while skiing.
A court official blunder saw the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, wrongly given bail from HMP Wormwood Scrubs.
He then left the country shortly after.
His trial, set for next week, is on multiple counts of rape, sexual assault and violence.
But the defendant said his efforts to return to Britain have been thwarted by the fact his British passport is still being held by police.
A senior judge last week called on the government to intervene to ensure the man could fly to the UK in time for the start of the court case.
But, on Tuesday, his barrister told Isleworth Crown Court that although the man had booked a flight to land at Stansted Airport, he has now been told not to travel on medical grounds.
“He had a skiing accident, and is now injured in such a way that it is said by doctors that he should not travel for two weeks”, she said.
The accident is said to have happened on Sunday, followed by a trip to hospital on Monday.
“He will be immobile for 10 days, he is currently in a wheelchair, and I have seen photographs of him in a wheelchair in hospital”, said the barrister.
“This is obviously highly undesirable and not the position we wanted.”
A doctor’s report handed to the judge set out that the man had suffered a sprained knee and swelling, and had been recommended to rest and not to travel.
Last Friday, it was revealed the man had been held in custody while facing the rape charges, which he denies, but a court official mistakenly sent a note to the prison to let him go after a pre-trial hearing in early February.
Judge Martin Edmunds KC, the Recorder of Kensington and Chelsea, has issued a warrant for the man’s arrest, and has also ordered an investigation into the blunder.
“Although such errors are extremely rare and, indeed, this is the only instance I am aware of when there has been an erroneous release of a prisoner held in custody to this court, we take this error extremely seriously,” he said in a ruling.
“We will fully investigate how it occurred and what steps can be put in place to prevent it occurring again.”
The mistake apparently happened because the defendant is on bail on a second, unrelated criminal case, and the court official believed the bail decision covered the rape case as well.
The man left the UK for another European country, and said he had been struggling to get a visa that would enable him to travel.
Police have been in discussions with Border Agency officials to clear a path for him to travel, and are said to have spoken directly to the defendant as well.
Prosecutor Bartholomew O’Toole indicated that the Crown Prosecution Service will consider an application for the trial to happen in the defendant’s absence.
“This is someone who could travel”, he said.
“It is an extraordinary sequence of events that led to him being where he is.
“His interests must be taken into account, but there’s the interests of justice also.”
If next week’s trial is abandoned, the case will not be heard before June.
Judge Edmunds adjourned the case until either Monday for an application for a trial in absence, or to a further hearing in April.
“The medical advice is helpful, but it doesn’t focus on the difference between general medical advice to not travel, and whether he is genuinely unfit to travel”, added the judge.
After the Press Association broke news of the accidental release on Monday, an HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) spokesperson said the service “is investigating this matter, and we are urgently working with the police to return them to custody”.
The spokesperson added: “We understand the distress errors such as this can cause to those affected, and instances like this have exposed deep-rooted issues across the broken justice system the Government inherited.
“We’re determined to bear down on these mistakes and keep the public safe, which is why Dame Lynne Owens is undertaking an independent investigation which we expect to report back in the coming weeks.”
