Football fan extradited to Portugal

A football fan convicted of rioting during Euro 2004 was finally extradited to Portugal yesterday to serve a two-year sentence for hooliganism.

Garry Mann, 52, from Faversham in Kent, boarded a flight to Lisbon from Heathrow last night after failing to secure a last-minute government intervention against the European Arrest Warrant issued by Portuguese authorities.

Insisting he had not been subject to a fair trial, Mann's lawyers attempted to secure a judicial review at the High Court last week. When that failed, it was left to his local MP, Hugh Robertson, to appeal to the Foreign Office.

Speaking at Heathrow before being flown to an unnamed secure prison in Lisbon, Mann said he had been "betrayed" by the Labour government. "What started off as [a measure to tackle] terrorists can now be used for anyone on holiday and English supporters abroad and something needs to be done about it," he said.

Jago Russell, of Fair Trials International, said Mann's trial was a "travesty of justice" and pledged to continue to campaign against the European Arrest Warrant and the fast-track system for extradition.