A dangerous driver who killed a pregnant woman and her unborn baby after filming himself driving at speeds in excess of 100mph has sentence increased

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Killer driver ordered to spend longer in prison

A dangerous driver who killed a pregnant woman and her unborn baby after filming himself driving at speeds in excess of 100mph has had his sentence increased.

www.gov.uk

Press release

Killer driver ordered to spend longer in prison​

A dangerous driver who killed a pregnant woman and her unborn baby after filming himself driving at speeds in excess of 100mph has had his sentence increased.
From: Attorney General's Office and Michael Tomlinson KC MP Published 13 October 2023

Adil Iqbal, 22, from Accrington had his 12-year sentence increased to 15 years after the Solicitor General referred his conviction to the Court of Appeal as being unduly lenient.
The court heard that Iqbal had a history of driving offences, and was previously convicted of driving without insurance and driving while disqualified. He had also been given a warning from police after racing in another vehicle.
On 13 May 2023, Iqbal was driving a BMW at excessive speeds on the M66 heading towards Manchester.
He was travelling at 112mph when he swerved to avoid a collision with another car and ploughed into Frankie Jules-Hough’s car which was stationary on the hard shoulder.
Ms Jules-Hough was 17 weeks pregnant and travelling in the car with her two sons and nephew. She was airlifted to hospital but died two days later having suffered catastrophic injuries. Her unborn baby did not survive the collision.
Two of the children were placed in induced comas and their long-term health and well-being remains uncertain.
Iqbal denied driving at excessive speeds and blamed the loss of control on an issue with his vehicle’s rear tyres. He also refused to provide the PIN to unlock his mobile phone.
However, investigations uncovered that in the moments leading up to the collision, Iqbal was filming himself travelling at speeds between 107 and 123mph.
The Solicitor General Michael Tomlinson KC MP said:

Adil Iqbal’s driving that day ripped apart a young family that had so much to look forward to – not least welcoming a new baby. It is deplorable enough that he was travelling at such excessive speed but endangering lives further by filming himself was simply inexcusable.

I am pleased the court has recognised the severity of his crimes and hope Iqbal’s increased sentence sends a stark warning to people who think it is acceptable to drive at high speeds and put the lives of others in jeopardy. You risk being punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Adil Iqbal was sentenced on 19 July 2023 to 12 years’ imprisonment and disqualified from driving for 13 years after he was convicted of one count of causing death by dangerous driving and two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
On Friday 13 October 2023, the Court of Appeal increased Adil Iqbal’s sentence to 15 years. The Court also increased the disqualification period to five years with a 10 year extension.

Background:​

• The maximum penalty for causing death by dangerous driving was increased from 14 years to life imprisonment for offences committed after 28 June 2022
• Further information on the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme is available on GOV.UK
• The AGO maintains a document listing recent sentences examined by the Attorney General’s Office under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

Ms Jules-Hough

MSN

Ex-partner of M66 crash victim upset by appeal ruling on dangerous driver​

Story by Brian Farmer and Tom Pilgrim, PA • 1d

The former partner of a pregnant mother-of-two who died after a motorway crash has spoken of his disappointment after appeal judges reviewed the jail sentence handed to the “dangerous” driver responsible for the tragedy.

Three appeal judges on Friday increased Adil Iqbal’s 12-year jail term to 15 years after concluding that a sentence handed down by a crown court judge was sentence was “unduly lenient”.

They heard that Iqbal filmed himself driving a BMW at speeds of up to 123mph as he weaved between traffic on the M66 in Bury, Greater Manchester, in May, before losing control and ploughing into Frankie Jules-Hough’s Skoda Fabia.

Ms Jules-Hough’s former partner, Calvin Buckley, said October 13 had been the due date of their unborn baby daughter, Neeve.

Adil Iqbal has now been jailed for 15 years (Greater Manchester Police/PA) © Provided by The Irish News

“The judgment today is not we was hoping for and is a bitter pill to swallow,” said Mr Buckley.

“I ask the question: what more does somebody have to do get a life sentence for causing death by dangerous driving?

“I am disappointed that another opportunity has been missed to try and clamp down on the growing issues of dangerous drivers and lawlessness on Britain’s roads.”

He added: “No number of years can compensate for our loss – we were all given a life sentence.”

Lord Justice Bean, Mr Justice Murray and His Honour Judge Anthony Leonard oversaw a Court of Appeal hearing in London.

Solicitor General Michael Tomlinson had argued that the sentence was unduly lenient and asked for a review.

Appeal judges ruled in Mr Tomlinson’s favour.

“This is the worst case of bad driving any of us can recall,” said Lord Justice Bean.

“We find it hard to imagine a worse case of bad driving than this one.”

He said the case was exceptional.

Mr Tomlinson said he hoped the increased sentence sent a “stark warning”.

“Adil Iqbal’s driving that day ripped apart a young family that had so much to look forward to – not least welcoming a new baby.

“It is deplorable enough that he was travelling at such excessive speed but endangering lives further by filming himself was simply inexcusable.

“I am pleased the court has recognised the severity of his crimes and hope Iqbal’s increased sentence sends a stark warning to people who think it is acceptable to drive at high speeds and put the lives of others in jeopardy.”

Ms Jules-Hough, 38, had pulled on to the hard shoulder with a puncture, and had her two sons and nephew in her car, judges heard.

She was making a call to say she would be late when she let out a “blood-curdling scream”, they were told.

Ms Jules-Hough, who was 17 weeks pregnant, suffered unsurvivable brain injuries, judges heard.

She died two days later without regaining consciousness.

Her unborn daughter could not survive.

Ms Jules-Hough’s son, Thomas Spencer, nine, and nephew Tobias Welby suffered serious brain injuries.

Their long-term outcomes remain uncertain, judges heard.

Both youngsters spent weeks in intensive care.

Iqbal, from Accrington, Lancashire, who worked in a gym and coached boxing to “disadvantaged” children, had been driving his father’s car.

He had admitted causing death by dangerous driving and two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Iqbal had been sentenced at a hearing in Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester in July.

Judge Maurice Greene had handed him a jail term totalling 12 years and spoke of the “most indescribable reckless driving”.

The judge had also banned Iqbal from driving for 13 years.

Appeal judges increased that ban to 15 years.

Judges heard that Iqbal had been convicted of driving without insurance in 2019 and in December 2021 posted a video to Facebook after filming himself speeding in a Lamborghini Huracan in Dubai.

Two months before the fatal crash, he was given a warning by police after being stopped while racing an Audi car on public roads.

On the day of the crash, other drivers’ dashcam footage caught Iqbal aggressively tailgating and undertaking on an A road leading to the motorway, with his car fish-tailing and swerving.

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

Judges heard that Iqbal had been convicted of driving without insurance in 2019 and in December 2021 posted a video to Facebook after filming himself speeding in a Lamborghini Huracan in Dubai.

Judge Maurice Greene had handed him a jail term totalling 12 years