Vicar jailed over sham marriage fraud

A CHURCH of England vicar has been jailed for four years for his part in the UK's biggest sham marriage fraud, helping hundreds of illegal immigrants to stay in Britain.

The Rev Alex Brown, 61, abused his position to marry hundreds ofAfrican men to eastern European women at his small parish church. Over a four-year period, the "massive and cynical scam" involved women being paid up to 3,000 each to marry to help illegal immigrants gain permanent UK residency.

Brown presided over 383 weddings at the Church of St Peter and St Paul in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, between July 2005 and July 2009, a 30-fold rise over the previous four years. Also sentenced were solicitor Michael Adelasoye, 50, and "recruiter" Vladymyr Buchak, 33.