Boris Becker deported from UK after being released from prison
The three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker has been deported from the UK after being freed from jail.
The 55-year-old German, who has lived in the UK since 2012, was released on Thursday after serving eight months of a two-and-a-half-year sentence.
The six-time grand slam champion was jailed in April for hiding £2.5m of assets and loans to avoid paying his debts.
Becker was expected to remain in jail for half of his sentence but was recently approved for a fast-track scheme in which foreign citizens are deported if certain conditions are met. The Home Office removed 1,136 foreign national offenders under its early removal programme last year.
The former world No 1 tennis player and BBC commentator has been deported because he is a foreign national without British citizenship who received a custodial sentence of more than 12 months. Becker will not be allowed to apply to enter the UK for 10 years.
Some reports suggested Becker had been flown to Germany on a private jet paid for by a TV company that has reportedly paid him a six-figure fee for his story. His mother has spoken of her delight over his expected return to his home country. According to the Sun, Elvira Becker said: “This is the best Christmas present I could hope for – I cannot wait to hold my beloved son in my arms.”
Becker is thought to have been transferred to a lower-security jail for foreign criminals awaiting deportation in May – the category C Huntercombe
prison near Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire – after previously reportedly being held at the category B Wandsworth prison in south-west London.
He was declared bankrupt on 21 June 2017 – owing creditors almost £50m – over an unpaid loan of more than £3m on his estate in Mallorca.
Apple TV has released a clip of the upcoming documentary, directed by Alex Gibney and produced by John Battsek, who is known for Oscar-winning documentaries such as Searching for Sugar Man.
The two-part documentary follows Becker’s life over three years in a series of interviews. In it, he talks about the emotional turmoil he felt prior to being sentenced over bankruptcy offences.
Speaking before his sentencing, Becker said he hit “bottom” while awaiting the court’s decision. “I’ve hit my [rock] bottom, I don’t know what to make of it,” he is filmed saying. “I [will] face [my sentence], I’m not going to hide or run away. [I will] accept whatever sentence I’m going to get.”