-Caveat Lector- Print this article | Close this window Cherie Blair flats-row man to be deported from Ireland
January 29 2003 Australian conman Peter Foster will be deported from Ireland, possibly to Australia, after being dramatically refused entry to the country. Foster, 40, spent the night in Dublin's Mountjoy Prison despite begging Irish immigration officials not to send him to jail following his arrest at Dublin Airport yesterday. He will be taken from the jail's detention centre later today and transported to the airport for a flight to either Australia, where he is wanted over a 1.4 million pound ($3.91 million) slimming scam, or France. Foster, who helped Prime Minister's wife Cherie Blair buy two flats in Bristol, was refused entry to Ireland yesterday afternoon when he landed at Dublin on a flight from France. The serial fraudster was seized by airport officers and police yesterday afternoon following a weekend in Paris with his London-based girlfriend, Carole Caplin. He was heard to beg: "Don't take me to prison," before pleading to be allowed to stay in Ireland overnight. "Look, if you want to make me go back to Australia just let me into the country for 24 hours," Foster, who has been jailed in Britain, the United States and Australia for fraud, reportedly said. "I didn't run away from England, I made a voluntary departure. I'll leave if I have to go to Australia, just don't take me to prison. "Let me into the country for 24 hours, then I'll leave." Foster fled from London to his mother's home in Ireland shortly before Christmas to escape the "Cheriegate" scandal and pending deportation from Britain. He hit the headlines last December when it was revealed he had helped Cherie Blair, the wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, buy two luxury apartments at a knockdown price after viewing the apartments on her behalf with Caplin, Mrs Blair's close friend and personal adviser. It then emerged that Mrs Blair, a leading barrister, spoke to Foster's lawyers about his deportation case. But she denied suggestions she had tried to influence the case, saying only that she was doing a favour for her friend. Secretly recorded phone calls between Foster and his mother, Louise Pelloti, revealed that he was planning to sell his story and smear Mrs Blair's reputation for 100,000 pounds - but could not find a buyer. He later dropped his appeal against deportation and went to Ireland, where he has been writing his autobiography. He flew to Paris last Thursday to meet Caplin to discuss a new business venture but was arrested on his return, British newspaper The Sun said. "Having a conviction in another country is one of the reasons a passenger can be refused entry into Ireland," an immigration official said. "We are in negotiations with French officials. If they don't allow him to return he will be sent back to Australia." Pelloti refused to speak to the media but a friend said she broke down in tears when police told her Foster had been arrested. "She was told: 'Your son has been refused leave to enter the Republic of Ireland and will be held in a place of detention overnight'," the friend said. In Canberra, a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman said it was believed Foster had already been deported from Ireland. She said Australian consular staff had not been able to talk to Foster during the period he was held while in Dublin. There was no reason for direct consular discussions with Foster if he had been deported to another country, she said. Foster was held overnight at Mountjoy Prison under the Aliens Act as immigration officials prepared to remove him from the country. At about 11.30am yesterday, a red Transit van with blacked out windows took Foster out of the prison and across to Dublin Airport, where he was expected to be boarding a flight shortly. Irish police said they expected he would be sent back to France, but would not confirm details of the flight. A spokesman for the Prison Service said Foster spent last night in a cell in the prison's main C2 wing, since there was no room in the holding cells usually used for people due to be deported. AAP and PA This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/01/29/1043534066422.html Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. 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