THE reputations of two of the country’s most senior immigration judges were in tatters last night after details of their personal lives were revealed at the Old Bailey.

Mohammed Ilyas Khan, 60, admitted in court that his stupidity had led to him becoming a “puppy” to an illegal immigrant whom he had employed as a cleaner.

After the verdicts, Mr Khan said: “That’s the bloody jury for you. I am so appalled by the service the victims of crime get. First of all she got a QC to defend her and we did not. At least they found her guilty of theft.”

“The fundamental issue is if I had any inkling she was illegal I would have had nothing to do with her. I suppose my job is on the line,” he told The Daily Telegraph.

Colleagues had regarded him as a devout Muslim who had risen steadily up the legal ladder since arriving from his native Kenya.

Mr Khan, a member of the Association of Humanitarian Lawyers, became a full-time immigration judge in 1992. Ten years ago he was also appointed a recorder to sit in Crown Courts conducting criminal trials part-time for one month a year.

He was promoted to the status of designated immigration judge about 18 months ago while deputy in charge of Hatton Cross, a main immigration appeal centre near Heathrow. He has since moved to Taylor House in Islington, North London, where he is in charge of ten full-time judges and fifteen part-timers.

His professional success was not mirrored in his personal life. His marriage to Amtul Naseer, with whom he has two children, failed and he had an unsuccessful five-year relationship with a colleague, Miss J. After that he started a relationship with Roselane Driza, moving her into his Finchley home. He told the court he was “vulnerable and lonely”, adding that had been a “big mistake and one I am paying for now”.

His intimate messages to Ms Driza, in which he referred to her as “chilli hot stuff”, thanked her for “delicious sex”, and promised to teach her how to cook curries, were relayed to the court. The court also learnt that he kept videos of himself having sex with former partners.

Although Miss J was found to be the victim of blackmail she will not come out of the case unscathed after allegations that one of the sex videos showed her snorting cocaine, a claim she denied.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said that the allegation of cocaine use made against Miss J would not result in a criminal investigation as no evidence had been produced in court to support it. The allegation was based on footage from a video that, the court was told, has been destroyed.

MISSING NAMES

Explore Law

• Columnists

• Law Panel

• Law Reports

• Student Law

Times Recommends

• BGC 'set aside £40m to lure Tullett brokers'
• Legal aid review to ensure value
• Fears as 21 magistrates' courts face closure