A millionaire recruitment tycoon, Salman Iftikhar, 38, who threatened to rape and murder Virgin Atlantic cabin crew in front of his terrified wife and three children during a flight, saw his prison sentence extended to three years yesterday.
Iftikhar, who was travelling first class, told cabin crew member Angie Walsh that she would be dragged from her hotel room, gang-raped and then set on fire. The chilling incident took place during a flight from London Heathrow to Lahore, Pakistan, on 7 February 2023.
A shocked passenger, who managed to capture a brief video of one of Iftikhar’s numerous tirades, can be heard exclaiming “holy s***” as the millionaire repeatedly accused Ms Walsh of being racist. He claimed: “You called me a p*** in front of everybody.”
At the time of the high-altitude drama, Iftikhar was travelling with his wife and three children, Isleworth Crown Court was informed. He is also married to a second wife, supermodel Abeer Rizvi, in Pakistan.
In August, Iftikhar broke down in tears as he was sentenced to 15 months in prison, sparking a debate over “two-tier” justice after Lucy Connolly received a 31-month sentence for her Southport riot tweets. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp referred Iftikhar’s sentence to the Attorney General for being “unduly lenient”, leading to his case being taken to the Court of Appeal, reports the Mirror.
His sentence was increased by three years to a total of four years and three months.
Solicitor General Ellie Reeves said today: “Salman Iftikhar made horrific threats of rape and violence against an air steward who was simply doing her job. His tirade of hate and abuse caused distress and anguish for the whole flight, and all of our thoughts today should be with the cabin crew and passengers who suffered from Iftikhar’s vile behaviour.”
Iftikhar has six previous convictions stemming from 15 offences, including common assault in 2004 and drink driving in 2008. He was fined £3,000 in 2021 after being caught drink driving whilst also under the influence of cannabis in his Rolls Royce.
Family members broke down in tears in the public gallery as Ms Recorder Annabel Darlow KC told him: “Your threats to kill were made in the presence of children, specifically your three young children. These were threats made with significant violence. Your children had to be comforted by cabin crew staff while you made those threats.
“Ms Walsh has given up a job which she has loved for 14 months, but thankfully has now returned to work. You have a lengthy and appalling record of misconduct. You have not addressed the underlying cause of this for many years, that is your drug and alcohol problem.
“Given your lifestyle and your ability to earn money, your harm and risk has not moved. This was an appalling incident which has caused long lasting and devastating consequences.”