This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-20164725

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Christopher Tappin pleads guilty over weapons charges Christopher Tappin pleads guilty over weapons charges
(about 1 hour later)
A retired London businessman has pleaded guilty in a US court to selling weapons parts to Iran.A retired London businessman has pleaded guilty in a US court to selling weapons parts to Iran.
Christopher Tappin, 66, made the plea at a court in El Paso, Texas, in an agreement with US prosecutors.Christopher Tappin, 66, made the plea at a court in El Paso, Texas, in an agreement with US prosecutors.
He is due to be sentenced on 9 January for selling surface-to-air missile parts to Iran. He is due to be sentenced on 9 January for selling parts for surface-to-air missiles.
His guilty plea calls for a 33-month sentence which prosecutors have said they would not oppose him serving in the UK.His guilty plea calls for a 33-month sentence which prosecutors have said they would not oppose him serving in the UK.
'Beginning of process''Beginning of process'
Speaking last week, his wife Elaine, 62, said "however upsetting" the plea deal was, it marked the beginning of the process to get him home. His wife Elaine, 62, said it was the "beginning of the end" of the family's ordeal.
Mrs Tappin, who has chronic Churg-Strauss syndrome, said: "From the moment Chris was put on a plane all we ever wanted was his swift and safe return.
"However upsetting, this is the beginning of that process."
Tappin, of Orpington, south-east London, has been on bail since being extradited to the US in February.Tappin, of Orpington, south-east London, has been on bail since being extradited to the US in February.
The former president of the Kent Golf Union previously denied attempting to sell batteries for surface-to-air missiles that were to be shipped from the US to Tehran via the Netherlands, saying he was the victim of an FBI sting. In an interview last week Mrs Tappin said "however upsetting" the plea deal was, it marked the beginning of the process to get him home.
Mrs Tappin said: "From the moment Chris was put on a plane all we ever wanted was his swift and safe return."
The former president of the Kent Golf Union and former director of Surrey-based Brooklands International Freight Services previously denied attempting to sell batteries for surface-to-air missiles that were to be shipped from the US to Tehran via the Netherlands, saying he was the victim of an FBI sting.
He had pleaded not guilty but changed his plea earlier in an agreement with US prosecutors.He had pleaded not guilty but changed his plea earlier in an agreement with US prosecutors.
Tappin had faced up to 35 years in jail.
The case followed an investigation, which began in 2005 when US agents asked technology providers about buyers who might have raised red flags.
Those customers were then approached by undercover companies set up by government agencies.
'Jury and executioner'
Briton Robert Gibson, an associate of Tappin who agreed to co-operate, was jailed for 24 months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to export defence articles.
Gibson provided customs agents with about 16,000 computer files and emails indicating that he and Tappin had long-standing commercial ties with Iranian customers.
American Robert Caldwell was also found guilty of aiding and abetting the illegal transport of defence articles and served 20 months in prison.
Plea bargaining is common in the US, with defendants often able to secure a more lenient sentence if they admit an offence and co-operate with prosecutors, rather than contest the charges in a trial.
But other extradited Britons - including so-called NatWest Three banker David Bermingham, who was jailed for 37 months over an Enron-related fraud in a plea deal four years ago - have claimed the system empowers prosecutors as "judge, jury and executioner".