Cyprus pair in UK jail request

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The solicitor for two Essex cousins who are to be jailed in Cyprus for manslaughter has requested that they serve their time in a UK prison.

Michael Binnington, 23, and Luke Atkinson, 24, from Witham, were passengers in a car which hit and killed a teenager on Cyprus in 2006.

Their appeal to the Supreme Court against extradition failed on Tuesday.

Lawyer Karen Todner said she has made a request to Justice Secretary Jack Straw for the men to remain in the UK.

Uncle in prison

They are due to be sent to Cyprus within two weeks to face three-year jail terms.

The car was being driven by Atkinson's uncle, Julian Harrington, in Protaras, when it hit a moped, killing 17-year-old pillion passenger Christos Papiris.

Harrington, also from Witham, is serving a 15-year jail sentence after admitting manslaughter and causing grievous bodily harm.

Atkinson and Binnington were sentenced in their absence by the Supreme Court of Cyprus in 2008.

The pair were initially acquitted by a Cypriot court in February 2007, but that verdict was overturned by the higher court in January 2008.

In June they lost their High Court fight against the extradition.