Jimmy Mubenga death: Widow says plane monitors needed on deportation flights

Adrienne Mubenga said she would "fight for 10 years" to ensure other people did not die like her husband

The wife of a deportee who died when he was restrained during a flight from Heathrow has said monitoring officers should travel on planes to prevent future deaths.

Jimmy Mubenga, 46, died from a cardiac arrest after being restrained by three G4S security guards on a flight to Angola on 12 October 2010.

The guards - Colin Kaler, 51, from Bedfordshire, Terrence Hughes, 53, from Hampshire, and Stuart Tribelnig, 38, from Surrey - have all been found not guilty of his manslaughter.

During the trial at the Old Bailey it was heard that Mr Mubenga became agitated and was pinned down by the guards and handcuffed while he was still wearing his seatbelt.

Terence Hughes, Colin Kaler and Stuart Tribelnig were all cleared of manslaughter

Mr Mubenga's wife Adrienne said: "The way they treated Jimmy it's not fair because he was a human being.

"They need to do deportation with care. They cannot treat them like animals.

"That's why I'm pleading [with] the Home Office... stop the deportation until they get a monitor to save other people's lives."

Mrs Mubenga said her husband was upset the day he was being deported but was not angry or aggressive and would not have been fighting or struggling against the guards.

"He was feeling sad. He was down," she said.

"Fight is too much, but he was trying not to go back to Angola, he was trying to stay here with his family."

Other passengers on the Boeing 777 plane told the court they heard Mr Mubenga saying "I can't breathe, let me up", but the guards maintained they could not hear his cries for help.

Mrs Mubenga said: "Jimmy was next to them. They kept Jimmy down."

Adrienne Mubenga said her husband's death and the subsequent trial had been "very painful"

Mrs Mubenga said she also believed the airline crew should have stepped in.

"[The crew] should have saved Jimmy's life. Someone was crying, was begging them 'I'm dying. I'm dying, do something'.

"Now they're coming to me with 'sorry'. What can I do with 'sorry'? Nothing. He was begging them for help and nobody helped."

Questioned about whether additional training may have informed the guards more about the consequences of their actions, Mrs Mubenga believes it would not have made a difference.

Adrienne Mubenga said she was finding it difficult to explain what happened to her and Jimmy's children

"They got training but look at what they did to Jimmy. We need a monitor.

"No matter what I do Jimmy's gone. I'm here for the other people. We need to save other people's lives."

Mrs Mubenga said the death of her husband and the court case had been "very painful" and her children continued to ask questions about what had happened to their father.

She said: "Jimmy's gone but we need justice for his children.

"My daughter was seven months at the time her father died. It breaks my heart, it makes me more determined to fight again to get justice for Jimmy and for my family.

"My daughter she needs to know the truth."