Fugitive gang member jailed for killing officer

A gang member who fled to his native Somalia after a robbery in which a police officer was shot dead was jailed for life yesterday.

Mustaf Jama, 29, was told he must serve at least 35 years for the murder of Sharon Beshenivsky.

Jama was in a gang that gunned down the mother-of-three and wounded her colleague, PC Teresa Milburn, in Bradford in November 2005. The judge, Mr Justice Openshaw, said Jama was one of a "team of ruthless and dangerous men". He was convicted at Newcastle Crown Court following a re-trial after a jury failed to reach a verdict in January.

Jama fled to Somalia using a friend's passport but was brought back to face justice in 2007.

PC Beshenivsky, 38, was killed as she responded to an incident in which the robbers escaped with little more than £5,000.

The ringleader, Muzzaker Shah, and Jama's brother, Yusuf, were caught soon afterwards and both jailed for life with a minimum tariff of 35 years.