Army veteran cleared over bribery claims

Bill Shaw, 52, from Leeds, was found guilty of bribing officials in March while he was working as manager of a security firm providing protection to foreigners. The father-of-three was jailed for two years and fined 16,000 after being found guilty of bribing officials.

He and his family protested his innocence, saying he thought he had paid officials a legitimate fine for the release of two impounded vehicles. And yesterday he was acquitted following an appeal in the Afghan capital Kabul. It is thought that he will be released within a week.

Mr Shaw, who served 20 years in the British Army and was awarded the MBE for his service, was held in Kabul's Pul-e-Charki jail which houses Taliban and al-Qaida inmates.

He described it as a "living hell", having been kept in solitary confinement during his sentence as there was a "$10,000 bounty on my head".

In a radio interview, he said: "They moved me to a place called the counter narcotics justice centre. That to me was a picture of Guantanamo Bay.

"Everything was taken off me... all your identity is stripped from you completely.

"You put a uniform on, they issue you with one bar of soap, a toothbrush and toothpaste – that is it, no possessions. That is the lowest part of my life."

"I was never charged, I was never informed I was being imprisoned for whatever reason, he just put me in a vehicle and sent me to prison."

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are pleased for Mr Shaw and his family. We welcome the appeal court's decision which is now subject to finalisation in the Supreme Court."

Mr Shaw's family have always claimed his original trial was a "sham", insisting the charges against him were "totally misconceived" and "not proven".

The Foreign Office said there was "no indication" when Mr Shaw would be able to return to Britain. Mr Shaw's daughter Lisa Lucklyn-Malone, who lives in Kent, said the family was "over the moon".