A HOOK man has been jailed for drunkenly attacking and killing a respected international banker after he left The Ivy Club in London’s West End.

Paul Mason, 52, a boss at Qatar National Bank, was set upon in the street near the exclusive private members’ club in Soho, on the evening of December 15, 2020.

Electrician Steven Allan, 35, from Hook, had admitted a charge of manslaughter and was cleared of the more serious offence of murder after a trial.

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Allan, who had been out drinking with a colleague, punched Mr Mason three times in the mistaken belief that he had stolen a mobile phone belonging to his friend. The incident took just 12 seconds and was captured on CCTV, viewed by jurors in Allan’s trial.

The Old Bailey had heard that Mr Mason did not react with any violence or aggression and had attempted to “turn the other cheek” and walk away when approached by Allan. When Allan delivered an upper cut, Mr Mason flew back and landed on his back with his head hitting the pavement.

Prosecutor Jane Bickerstaff KC said the defendant was “aggressive and seemed to want to continue fighting” even as Mr Mason lay “gravely injured”. According to one witness, Allan had shouted: “Where’s your fight now, show me your fight now.”

Mr Mason had suffered serious head injuries from which he died six months later.

On Thursday, April 20, Mr Mason’s family blamed Allan for a double tragedy as they told how his vulnerable brother took an overdose three months after his death.

Reading her victim impact statement in court, Mr Mason’s sister Rachel Mason said: “You, Steven Allan, violently attacked and killed my brother and have left me heartbroken and devastated. You have broken my family forever.”

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On the death of her other sibling, she said: “My other brother Simon, a vulnerable adult, could not cope with the killing of his little brother. He was consumed by trauma and grief and took an overdose three months after Paul died. You have left me with no brothers at all."

In mitigation, William Boyce KC said the defendant’s “remorse” for what happened had affected every aspect of his life.

Jailing Allan to three years and nine months, Judge Michael Topolski KC said: “The circumstances that led to the defendant causing the death of a perfectly respectable, wholly innocent stranger who happened to be passing by are as extraordinary as they are tragic."