by Jenny Engstrom A bank employee who was jailed for 12 years for his inside man role in a raid has failed to win a reduction in his sentence at the Court of Appeal. Jawed Hussein Kadiri, 45, was treated as a prosecution witness in the

by Jenny Engstrom

A bank employee who was jailed for 12 years for his 'inside man' role in a raid has failed to win a reduction in his sentence at the Court of Appeal.

Jawed Hussein Kadiri, 45, was treated as a prosecution witness in the case until his links with the robbers were discovered before their trial.

In April of last year, he was convicted of robbery and two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to commit an offence at Kingston Crown Court and sent to prison.

His conviction meant he lost not only his freedom, but also his pension and his 20-year career as an employee at the NatWest bank in St John's Wood High Street, St John's Wood.

On June 13, three top judges sitting at the Court of Appeal upheld the 12-year term and also rejected a challenge by one of the actual raiders, 38-year-old Palestinian immigrant, Yamid Saleh Tarabeiah, to his convictions.

Tarabeiah is facing 12 years behind bars and deportation on his release after being convicted of the same offences as Kadiri, who is from Dartmouth Road, Hendon.

The raiders were caught in the act of robbing the bank shortly before closing time on March 27, 2006.

Tarabeiah and two others had stormed in and tied up Kadiri and another employee with duct tape, threatening them with stun guns, before taking almost £300,000 from a strong room.

Police arrived quickly and arrested the raiders, catching up with a fourth man, the get-away driver, shortly afterwards.

Rejecting their appeal cases, Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith, who sat with Mr Justice Andrew Smith and Lord Justice Hughes, said: "Kadiri's position meant that his breach of the trust placed in him by his employers was a seriously aggravating factor.

"He was the inside man who made this robbery possible."

jenny.engstrom@archant.co.uk