A 26-year-old man has been jailed for eight years for taking part in the botched robbery in Bradford which left PC Sharon Beshenivsky being gunned down in cold blood.

Raza ul Haq Aslam had effectively acted as a look out during the fatal raid on the travel agents in Bradford nearly two years ago.

The defendant was convicted in March of robbery following a retrial at Newcastle Crown Court. He was acquitted of murder, manslaughter, robbery and a string of firearms offences in December last year.

But a retrial was ordered on the charge of robbery because the jury could not reach a verdict. ul Haq Aslam, of St Pancras Way, Kentish Town, London, returned to Newcastle Crown Court for sentencing yesterday.

Jailing him for eight years, Judge John Milford told ul Haq Aslam that he was being sentenced on the basis that he did not know firearms were being carried by other members of the gang.

"You were one of a team of seven men taking part in a robbery at the Universal Express travel agents in Bradford," the judge said.

"During the course of that offence those in the premises were subjected to violence and were tied up and injured.

"In addition, and most terribly, two female officers were shot, one fatally. It was a crime that shocked the nation. It goes without saying that this offence is so serious that any sentence other than imprisonment cannot be justified."

Speaking to the Telegraph & Argus after the case PC Beshenivsky's husband, Paul, said the jailing of Aslam was another step along the way to him being able to bring closure to the tragic events.

Mr Beshenivsky, of Hainworth, near Keighley, said: "It has gone on a long time now. Anything that happens, an officer getting shot or someone getting injured, it's on the TV and it brings it all back to the kids. That's the upsetting bit.

"It's not that you want to forget, you just don't want it cropping up every two minutes. I feel Aslam should have got longer in prison, but that is the law and it is down to the judge.

"Bringing the last two to justice would bring further closure and I hope the police catch them before long."

The Beshenivsky children, Lydia, five, and Paul, eight, were meeting the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on their visit to Bradford today. Lydia, whose mother died on her fourth birthday, was presenting the Queen with a posy.

ul Haq Aslam was the fifth person to be convicted in connection with the botched robbery in which PC Beshenivsky, 38, was gunned down as the gang fled the Universal Express travel agents in Morley Street on November 18, 2005. Her colleague, PC Teresa Milburn, 37, was shot and seriously wounded as the robbers escaped with little more than £5,000. Four other men have already been sentenced to a total of more than 100 years in prison following the shootings.

West Yorkshire Police are still hunting two other men in connection with the robbery. A force spokesman said they were "confident" that the two men wanted in connection with the shootings - Mustaf Jamma and Piran Ditta Khan who are thought to have fled abroad - would be caught and brought to trial.

Detective Superintendent Andy Brennan said: "We are pleased with the jury's verdict and the sentence on Raza ul Haq Aslam, which reflects his part in this terrible crime. This inquiry is not over and we are now concentrating our efforts on tracing and bringing to justice the remaining two men we believe were involved."

  • Sharon's daughter meets the Queen