A Romanian van driver, Vasile Barbu, who killed Team GB triathlete Rebecca Comins after ploughing into her during a cycling time trial in South Wales, has lost his appeal against deportation. Barbu, 50, was jailed for four years for causing death by dangerous driving, and an immigration judge ruled that removing him would not breach his human rights, rejecting his claim that he had built a settled life in Britain. The case matters because it tests how serious criminal offending by long-term foreign residents is weighed against family and private life protections under human rights law.

Comins, 52, a mother-of-two, was struck from behind on the A40 dual carriageway near Raglan during an event organised by Monmouthshire Wheelers, despite riding with a bright rear light and being visible for at least 18 seconds beforehand. Barbu initially claimed he thought he had hit a falling parcel and denied dangerous driving, though he later admitted causing death by careless driving; prosecutors said his vehicle was overladen and defective and that he had ample space and time to avoid her. Judge Ian Boyes found the offence was not an accident and that the public interest in deportation outweighed Barbu's ties to the UK, where he had lived since 2022, married and had twins.