Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has urged a review of the 15-month jail term handed to a wealthy recruitment boss who hurled death threats and racist abuse at cabin crew.
Salman Iftikhar, 37, was flying first class from London Heathrow to Lahore when he told Virgin Atlantic stewardess Angie Walsh she would be dragged from her hotel room, gang raped and set alight.
Philp has written to Attorney General Lord Hermer, arguing the sentence was “unduly lenient”, urging him to consider referring the case to the Court of Appeal for an increase.
He used the case of Lucy Connolly, who was jailed for 31 months for a tweet about the Southport riots, to claim Iftikhar's sentence was evidence of “two-tier justice”.
In a letter, posted on social media, the MP said: “Connolly made a wrong and distasteful social media post which she then deleted, but Iftikhar made over 100 sickening threats including of gang rape directly to Ms Walsh personally, face to face, and to other members of the cabin crew’s faces and has multiple previous convictions.
“I am sure you agree that this cannot be right.
“Given the severity of the threats and the vile language used by Iftikhar, I believe his sentence should be reconsidered and increased and I urge you to refer his case for review under the Unduly Lenient Scheme, which covers the offences for which Iftikhar was convicted.”
Mr Philp told the Mail this case was “two-tier justice in action” and that he had referred the case for review under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.
“We'll now find out if Hermer is willing to take action to fix Britain's two-tier justice problem,” he told the newspaper.
Iftikhar was flying with his wife and three children at the time of the incident on February 7, 2023, Isleworth Crown Court heard.
A passenger filmed one of Iftikhar's many rants as he repeatedly accused Ms Walsh of being a racist and says: “You called me a p*** in front of everybody.”
“Mr Iftikhar was seen drinking champagne at the onboard bar, where he was talking to cabin crew,” prosecutor Abdul Kapadia told the court.
“During the defendant's first meal service, the defendant was seen helping himself to ice, leaning over bar he was drinking at, and taking ice with his hands.
“When told to stop, the defendant became irate, and started to film cabin crew with his phone, telling them: ‘Do not tell me what to do you b****.’
“When asked by the cabin crew to return to his seat, he then said: ‘Don't tell me what to do you racist f***ing b****. I know where you are from in Cardiff.’
“The pilot was then contacted, and turned the seat belt lights on. The defendant then shouted, and said: ‘Look at this b**** having the seat belt sign on when there was no turbulence. What the f*** is this b**** doing?’
“Iftikhar returned to his seat and called crew member Angie Walsh a 'f***ing b****.'”
The father-of-three later threatened to blow up the hotel the cabin crew were staying at and told Ms Walsh 'You will be dead on the floor of your hotel'.
He told Ms Walsh: 'You will be dragged by your hair from your room and gang raped and set on fire', it was reported.
Iftikhar was arrested at his £900,000 detached home in Iver, Buckinghamshire, on March 16, 2024.
Ms Walsh sat in court accompanied by her sister, Claire Walsh, who is also a Virgin Atlantic flight attendant in their uniforms.
She told how she had to take 14 months off work in a victim impact statement read to the court.
She said: “I feel like what happened that day has change my life enormously. I can't quite believe that one passenger has had this much of an impact on my, my job, my career and my life. I am a strong brave, happy stewardess, and loved my job. I am well known within the company.
“I have been flying with Virgin Atlantic for 37 years. I was working when all flights were grounded on 9/11, and I've even flown into a warzone. But this incident has broken me.”
The Attorney General’s office has been approached for comment
