Sudanese man who walked into UK via Channel tunnel granted asylum

A Sudanese man who allegedly walked almost the entire length of the 31-mile Channel tunnel from France has been granted asylum in the UK.

Abdul Haroun, who was arrested at the English end of the tunnel in August and charged with obstructing a railway under an obscure 19th-century law, has been held in prison since then. He was to face trial this month.

At a brief hearing at Canterbury crown court, where Harount appeared via video-link from prison and spoke only to confirm his name, the prosecutor Philip Bennetts said the 40-year-old had been granted asylum on 24 December. 

Bennetts requested 14 days for the prosecution to consider the effect of this new information on the criminal case, suggesting that the charge against Haroun may be dropped.