Bradford killer loses bid to keep murder 'getaway' car

The BMW was used on the day Amriz Iqbal was killed in Bradford in 2018

A convicted killer has been forced to give up his car after a judge confiscated the vehicle.

Tony Grant was jailed for life last year for his part in the murder of Amriz Iqbal in Bradford in 2018.

Grant, who is appealing against his conviction, wanted to save the BMW, arguing it was jointly owned.

However, Judge Richard Mansell QC upheld a deprivation order at the city's crown court after ruling it was key to carrying out the crime.

• More stories from across Yorkshire

Mr Iqbal died after he was hit by a Kia Sedona driven by Mohammed Nisar Khan, and then beaten, in October 2018.

Khan and Grant, who was a passenger in the Kia, were convicted in May 2019.

The court heard Grant had driven his BMW to meet Khan and had later used it when he and Khan dumped the Kia.

When the BMW was recovered by police four days after the murder "weapons and face coverings" were still inside it.

Tony Grant was jailed for life in 2019

In his ruling, Judge Mansell said: "There can be no question that the BMW was used by the defendant for the purpose of committing or facilitating the commission of an offence.

"Not only did he drive the vehicle to his co-accused's house so that he might join him in the Kia but he used the vehicle as a getaway to assist his co-accused in disposing of the Kia and probably the weapon or weapons used to beat the deceased."

He rejected defence claims that confiscation orders should only be made in uncomplicated cases and said the evidence that the BMW was jointly owned by a car dealership was virtually non-existent.

Correction 20 November 2020: This article has been amended to remove references to the car's registration plate, which the BBC has learned was sold separately to a third party and did not form part of the appeal against the deprivation order.

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail] or send video here.