'It's a travesty': Sister of banker punched to death in London blasts killer's short sentence as thousands back review
29 April 2023, 09:11 | Updated: 29 April 2023, 09:16
The sister of a beloved international banker who was killed by a thug has talked of her family's pain after her other brother drank himself to death.
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Paul Mason was attacked, unprovoked, by an electrician in Covent Garden, London, who falsely accused him of taking his friend's phone.
Steven Allan, 35, savagely punched him in a brutal attack recorded on CCTV in December 2020 but was given just three years and nine months behind bars after being cleared of murder. He admitted the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Mr Mason, 52, the high flying executive at Qatar National Bank who was heavily involved with charities, died six months after the attack.
It devastated his family, with sister Rachel, 50, revealing how her other brother relapsed into alcoholism in the wake of Paul's death three months later and also died.
She has hit out at the jail time given to Allan and launched a petition calling for a review of it.
"The verdict is a travesty," she said, adding she wanted to "scream and shout" about the court case.
CCTV shows shocking moment man is assaulted in Westminster in 2020
"How could it not be murder? He hit my kind, gentle, compassionate brother — who made no attempt to retaliate — repeatedly and with such ferocity that he fell to the ground and did not get up again."
She told MailOnline: "Allan set off a chain of events that had a ripple effect. Simon died of alcohol poisoning as a result of losing his brother. He was in recovery, but he started drinking again. I believe it was a slow suicide.
"Allan has two people's blood on his hands. He killed Paul and he triggered Simon's addiction because he couldn't cope with the heartbreak of our brother's death.
"When the sentence was handed down I was stunned. Allan could be out in just over a year, which is outrageous. His defence was that he was under the influence of alcohol and very anxious when he attacked Paul.
"Well, I'm anxious. I've been diagnosed with PTSD, but I don't kill people."
Rachel, a former NHS fundraiser for Royal Surrey Hospital who has not worked since the tragedy, said it has "destroyed" their elderly parents Ian, 80, and Linda, 79.
She was unable to see him in hospital, where he underwent an operation to remove a large part of his skull because of brain swelling, due to Covid restrictions at the time.
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He emerged from his coma with short term memory loss, "thin and weak", Rachel said. He was allowed back home in Wandsworth, South London, where he was cared for after almost five months.
But weeks after an operation to fit a plate in his skull, he went into a coma having suffered brain bleeds and strokes. Eventually, his life support was ended.
"I had a final sleep-over at the hospital and the next night, at 9pm, Mum, Dad and I said goodnight to him. We left the radio playing quietly in the background when we went. Heart FM.
"Then we had the phone call telling us his heart had stopped."
Allan lashed out at the "kind and gentle" boss at Qatar National Bank in a 12-second assault captured on camera. He believed Mr Mason had taken his friend's phone.
The footage shows how he approaches Mr Mason, who had just left The Ivy private member's club, from behind and launches a punch as the banker tries to calmly walk away.
Mr Mason is then harangued by Allan as he tries to protect his face. He is knocked unconscious when Allan attacks again, who appears to search his upper body.
The banker died of his injuries in hospital six months later after suffering a head injury.
Allan handed himself into police two days after his attack after the Met launched an appeal.
Rachel, who has called for a life sentence, launched her petition a week ago, which says that Allan will likely serve just over a year in prison, or half his sentence.
She described Paul as "an innocent, kind gentle man" who was simply walking home, and said Allan's punishment is an "insult" to Mr Mason and the family.
More than 15,000 people have signed it as of Saturday morning.
"I worked with Paul. He was a gentle man, and his senseless death at the hands of a violent thug must be punished," Richard Garvey, from Sidcup, wrote on the petition.
Rachel, from Cobham, said: "He was practical and pragmatic, loving and generous, a godfather to five children — and there was a waiting list.
"He always brought joy and laughter."
Mr Mason was involved in a number of charities, raising money for causes like motor neurone disease, the family added.
Rachel said her grieving older brother Ian died aged 56 in September 2021, months after Paul's death in June that year.
Officers found him dead and she had to tell her devastated parents. Simon leaves behind a son, 14.
Rachel said that while she used to embrace life, she is now scared of people and is nervous when walking on the street.
She said she doubts she can ever forgive Allan, but knows Mr Mason would not want hate to eat her up.
