Garry Mann to be returned to UK to finish sentence

Garry Mann surrendered to Portuguese police at Heathrow last May

An England football fan jailed in Portugal for his role in a riot during Euro 2004 is to be transferred to a UK prison to serve out his sentence.

Garry Mann, a former firefighter from Kent, was extradited last May after losing a six-year court battle against being sent back to Portugal.

Mann, 53, denies being involved in the fight and claims he did not receive a fair trial in Albufeira.

He will serve the rest of his two-year sentence in a British jail.

Fair Trials International said the transfer application had been accepted in principle but no date had yet been set.

The Birmingham City supporter was drinking with friends in a bar in Albufeira when a riot involving football fans began in a nearby street.

He was arrested, tried and convicted within 48 hours.

Mann's MP Hugh Robertson asked Foreign Secretary William Hague to look into the case, saying the conviction was unsafe.

Mr Robertson tried to make a last-ditch appeal for government help over the extradition, but failed to get through to anyone at the Foreign Office.