Driver in E-Bloc prison drama
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• A British lorry driver facing jail in Hungary for leaving the scene of a fatal accident has made a last-ditch mercy plea to the Budapest government, claiming his inability to speak the language meant he had to drive on to seek help.
George Henderson, an owner-operator from Tranent, East Lothian, was sentenced to a year's imprisonment for failing to stop. He has been staying in a hotel at his own expense since being arrested after the incident on 10 October: an appeal to judges in December has already failed.
Henderson's wife Josephine has been flooded with offers of help from fellow drivers in her bid to be reunited with her husband — now she hopes they will give her lifts to Gayo, near Budapest later this month.
The Henderson's MP, John Home-Robertson, has written to the Foreign Office and the Hungarian Ambassador. He says he respects the right of the Hungarian authorities to prosecute foreigners who may have committed crimes, but is anxious to ensure that Hender son is given a fair hearing. "He is self-employed and has no one else to help him. I understand Mrs Henderson is less than satisfied with the back-up from the British consulate," says Home-Robertson, who holds an HGV licence. He says that self-employed drivers travelling to Europe "perform an important service to the British export trade and are entitled to as much representation as possible" from UK diplomats abroad.
John Austin of the Foreign Office consular department says Henderson is being treated "extremely well" and better than any Hungarian "in similar circumstances". He claims that the British consul in Budapest "has gone out of his way to be helpful, given that we can't interfere in other countries' laws".
Henderson, who travels regularly to Eastern Europe, was just inside the Hungarian border when the accident occurred. Hungary's government has said it has the ability to grant pardon, but if the amnesty bid is unsuccessful Henderson faces a full 12 months in jaiL