‘This promotion is insult to memory of my Cerys’
THE devastated father of a girl who was left paralysed and permanently dependent on a ventilator after being hit by a speeding driver says news that the motorist has been made MD of a major company is “insulting” to his late daughter’s memory.
Cerys Edwards had just celebrated her first birthday when the family car was hit head-on by Antonio Boparan, who was driving his parents’ Range Rover in November 2006. Cerys died nine years after the crash, with a post-mortem showing that she died as a result of the catastrophic injuries she suffered.
Boparan, now aged 30, who was convicted of dangerous driving in 2008 and served six months of a 21-month sentence, has taken on the director role with the 2 Sisters Food Group. The company was established by his father, Ranjit Singh Boparan, who has an estimated fortune of £750m.
Cerys’ father Gareth Edwards, of Llangollen, said: “My daughter is dead and buried and that man gets promoted to become a director of a multi-million-pound company.”
The crash’s impact left Cerys paralysed, unable to speak, permanently dependent on a ventilator and requiring round-the-clock care.
The youngster died in October 2015 – just weeks before her 10th birthday – at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Police handed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service last March and specialist prosecutors are still in the process of deciding if fresh charges should be brought against Boparan.
Gareth said: “What kind of message does an appointment like this send out, especially after he was jailed again for fighting inside a Birmingham bar?
“The post mortem showed that my daughter died as a result of injuries, from a crash caused by him. I know my parents would have disowned me if I had done the same, not promoted me.
“This promotion is insulting to the memory of my late daughter, but I suppose nothing should surprise me.
“I still visit Cerys every single day, at her grave, but we didn’t even receive a condolence card from Antonio or his family when she passed away.
“The loss of Cerys ripped apart countless lives, but not his. He served six months. But the people who loved and cared for Cerys have to live with losing her every single day.”
Antonio Boparan was jailed for a second time in 2015 for his involvement in a bar brawl which left a man blind in one eye.
He pleaded guilty to violent disorder and inflicting actual bodily harm after the incident, in the VIP room of Nuvo Bar in Birmingham in April 2014.
He was jailed for 12 months after a court heard he threw one victim to the floor and kicked him in the head.
A spokesman for 2 Sisters Food Group said Antonio Boparan was appointed a year ago as one of six managing directors who run various divisions of the company.
“Twenty-two directorships were registered at Companies House last week across all our businesses for six existing managers. Mr Boparan was one of them,” a spokesman said.
“He has been in this current role for over a year, and it is as MD of our subsidiary UK poultry (chicken) sites. Prior to this, he held other senior roles, including MD of other subsidiaries, since 2011.”
He said the change had been made so Mr Boparan could sign off legal documents and spending for the company.
His father Ranjit remains chief executive officer at the firm. When Cerys died in 2015, Gareth paid tribute to the bravery of his daughter by saying her smile “would melt the hearts of anyone”.
Moving tributes were also paid at her funeral, where she was laid to rest in a pink coffin, and a single white dove and balloons were released at her graveside.