An electrician who punched and killed a millionaire banker in a random attack outside a restaurant has been jailed for only three years.
Steven Allan, 35, was jailed today for killing Qatar National Bank CEO Paul Mason, 52, in a random attack outside the Ivy in London‘s West End in December 2022.
It comes as Mr Mason’s sister Rachel Mason said she was ‘devastated’ by the death of her brother and revealed her other brother Simon died from an alcohol overdose three months after his death due to ‘trauma and grief’.
Allan, who had been drinking in various bars, drunkenly accused Mr Mason of stealing his friend’s mobile phone before knocking him to the ground and later fleeing on a rickshaw.
As Mr Mason tried to get up Allan hit him with an uppercut and witnesses heard the sickening crunch as his skull made contact with the pavement – which left him in a coma for four months and eventually killed him.
Steven Allan (pictured), 35, was jailed today for killing Qatar National Bank CEO Paul Mason, 52, in a random attack outside the Ivy in London’s West End in December 2022
As Mr Mason (pictured) tried to get up Allan hit him with an uppercut and witnesses heard the sickening crunch as his skull made contact with the pavement – which left him in a coma for four months and eventually killed him
Judge Michael Topolski said: ‘The circumstances that led to the defendant causing the death of a wholly respectable and perfectly innocent stranger are as extraordinary as they are tragic.
‘The sudden and unexpected nature of the circumstances that led to his death have exacerbated the family’s feelings of disbelief, stress and anger at the manner of his passing.
‘The fact it has taken two trials to reach this point cannot have made the family’s position any less unbearable.
‘The two men at the centre of these events were complete strangers in the company of different people that night.
‘In a series of absolutely extraordinary coincidences these two men were later in the evening to come together leading to a truly devastating result.
‘The defendant lived in Hampshire with two small children and was the site manager on a substantial project in Hyde Park Place.
‘He neither knew nor liked central London, he found it out of his comfort zone and a place where he found himself becoming both anxious and wary. Before then he had never been to the West End of London.
‘As Mr Mason came into Mr Allan’s view the screen of his phone is seen to be lit.
‘This was at the very moment the defendant was trying to contact his friend Taylor, who as far as he was aware was still inside club premises.
‘The defendants case to the jury was that in a state of increasing anxiety he believed Paul Mason had got hold of Taylor’s phone, and so he walked across, engaged Mr Mason and attempted to look at his phone.
‘It was not Taylor’s phone. It was Mr Mason’s phone.
‘The moment they came together until the moment Mr Mason was lying on the floor unconscious took no more than 12 seconds.
‘The final blow struck sends Mr Mason backwards, fell back on his back, banging his head on the pavement without any attempt to break his fall.
‘From that moment on Paul Mason remained motionless and unconscious on his back.
‘The defendant remained at the scene less than 60 seconds after Mr Mason fell on the ground.
‘On arriving home in Hampshire the defendant did not tell his partner what had occurred that evening.
‘The next morning he saw an image of himself taken from a CCTV still on the Metropolitan Police website. He contacted the police and told them it was him the next day.
‘The defendant is a man of positive good character and in my judgement remains genuinely remorseful.
‘He has been tried twice for murder and has been acquitted.
‘Steven Allan, you have and you will have to live with the knowledge for the rest of your life that you were responsible for taking that man’s life.
‘The question before us all is why did a decent, loving family man as popular and hardworking as you is now facing a prison sentence.’
Allan admitted manslaughter but denied murder and was cleared of the more serious charge by an Old Bailey jury following a retrial in January
The judge told the family he was well aware his sentence would seem like ‘nothing’ as they shook their heads in the well of the court.
The court heard Allan has been diagnosed with a mixed anxiety and depressive disorder and had had panic attacks since 2017.
William Boyce, KC, defending, said there was no obvious risk to Allan that he would cause anything other than minor harm.
The judge commended the behaviour of the three nurses who helped Mr Mason while they were on a night out in Cambridge Circus.
Ms Mason, an NHS worker, stood staring directly at Allan as she read her victim impact statement, while Allan stared at the floor.
She said: ‘You Steven Allan violently attacked and killed my brother and have left me broken and devastated.
‘A feeling of melancholy will consume me for the rest of my life as I have to live without Paul.
‘You’ve broken my family for evermore. I’m overwhelmed with feelings of shock, disbelief and hatred towards you. How dare you take Paul’s life?
‘I just can’t comprehend someone doing this to another human being especially someone I loved so much.
‘Watching the CCTV in court, the horrific violent attack on Paul and how he tried to escape you will haunt me forever.
The court heard today also that Mr Mason’s brother Simon, who worked part time in a garage, had taken his own life as a result of his brother’s death.
Doctors battled to save Mr Mason and even carried out a procedure to replace part of his skull with a sheet of titanium, but he died six months later on 4 June 2021.
Allan jumped into a cycle rickshaw while members of the public tried to help Mr Mason. He was later traced from CCTV footage and arrested.
Allan admitted manslaughter but denied murder and was cleared of the more serious charge by an Old Bailey jury following a retrial in January. He is due to be sentenced by Judge Michael Topolski later today.
Allan insisted he was just trying to retrieve his friend’s phone and did not mean to hurt Mr Mason.
Allan told jurors it was a ‘tragic accident’, adding: ‘I was an absolute idiot, I don’t know how I jumped to such a wrong conclusion at the time but I did.’
Miss Mason added: ‘You’ve shockingly been out on bail to enjoy your life. Yes, you had a curfew but lockdown meant we all had restrictions so no hardship there.
‘You’ve had the luxury of time with your family while we, due to Covid, could only see Paul on FaceTime while he was lying in a coma for weeks, in hospital for over four months.
‘When he came out of the induced coma he was distressed, could not move or talk properly or swallow and his short-term memory had gone.
‘He had to have part of his skull removed to relieve the pressure on his brain that was swelling because of the damage done to it by you.
‘We ultimately watched Paul die as the brain damage you caused took his life and the life support was withdrawn.
‘His previously fit and healthy body wasted away in front of us over three days. All we could do was watch him die.
‘My brother Paul was a remarkable, kind, decent, gentle soul who was so successful in every aspect of his life, highly regarded in his international banking career, loved dearly by his family.
She added that her other brother had relapsed into alcoholism and taken his own life three months after Mr Mason’s death.
‘My other brother Simon is a vulnerable adult and could not cope with the violent killing of his little brother.
‘He was consumed with trauma and grief and died from an overdose three months after Paul died. You have left me with no siblings at all.
‘The deep connection to my childhood has gone. I have no doubt whatsoever your actions contributed to the death of my other sibling.
‘Simon leaves a 13-year-old without a father to love and support him in life because of you.
‘I’m now alone to support my elderly parents through old age. I’ve not been able to function well or work in the NHS due to PTSD.
‘I hope you feel sick in the pit of your stomach every day for the rest of your life as you live with being a, in my mind, murderer.’
Finally, Ms Mason held up her brother’s phone and said: ‘This is Paul’s phone. You killed him for this.’
Mr Mason had put a female friend in a black cab after they had spent the night at the exclusive Ivy when he was confronted by Allan on December 15, 2020.
Mr Mason’s sister Rachel Mason said: ‘His previously fit and healthy body wasted away in front of us over three days. All we could do was watch him die’
Allan, who had been drinking with a colleague, marched across the road to him and tried to grab his phone.
Mr Mason tried to continue his journey but Allan followed him and punched him with his right fist, knocking him to the ground.
‘He appears then to lean down towards Mason, who is at the same time trying to shrug him off and move away from the defendant,’ said Jane Bickerstaff, KC, prosecuting.
‘The defendant then punched Mr Mason a second time while he was trying to get back to his feet.
‘He then punches him a third time with an upper cut that causes Mr Mason to fly back and land on his back with his head hitting the pavement.’
Ms Bickerstaff today described it as a sustained violent attack involving three punches.
She showed the judge images of Mr Mason taken from police body worn footage after the attack showing injures to his face including a cut above his eye.
‘Although the defendant has some explanation for approaching Mr Mason where he sought to grasp Mr Mason’s phone out of his hand without explanation, after Mr Mason decided to turn the other cheek in a dignified manner there has been no explanation for the violent attack that followed.
‘This is more than a one punch manslaughter, there is at least three punches that can be seen on the footage.
‘The defendant wanted a fight and was frustrated the victim was not putting up a resistance.’
She disputed Allan’s claim he had sought to help Mr Mason, saying he left the scene 55 seconds after he hit the floor.
William Boyce, KC, defending, said the first punch was actually a push, and Allan had only punched Mr Mason once if at all.
He said that in all other aspects of his life Allan was friendly, helpful, supportive and not violent or confrontational in any way. Allan has no previous convictions for any offence.
Mr Mason’s father Ian Mason said in a statement read to court: ‘My life and the lives of my family have been changed forever as a direct result of that brutal attack on Paul.
‘Paul was very much a family man at heart and although he did not yet have children of his own he kept in constant touch with his nieces and godchildren.
‘My son Simon was devastated his brother had been murdered and it led him to start drinking again which led to him passing away.
‘He had been in a recovery centre and had come out and was living happily and seeing his son regularly.
‘I know nothing will bring my sons back to us but I hope a violent thug will be taken off the streets so he can’t ruin another family’s life as he has ruined ours.’
William Boyce, KC, defending, said the first punch was actually a push, and Allan had only punched Mr Mason once if at all
His mother Linda Mason said: ‘For his charitable works in the financial world Paul was so proud to be awarded the Freeman of the City of London, but he could not safely walk on a London street.
‘Paul had no freedom from the violent, pointless attack.
‘He was a regular visitor to my mother who will be 102 next week. During Covid Paul could only window visit and telephone.
‘She does not understand why her grandson Paul does not visit or call her anymore.
‘I have now lost two sons. I just hope he cannot harm anymore innocent people.’
Registered nurse Laura Gil Selva saw Allan aggressively shouting at the victim and described him throwing a forceful punch and causing the victim’s face to bleed.
‘She saw that as Mr Mason went to the floor for the final time, his head hit the floor making a loud sound,’ said Ms Bickerstaff.
‘She recalls that as she sought to help the victim, the defendant said to her, something like, ‘Don’t touch him or help him. You don’t know what he did. He’s kidnapped my nephew.’
Another witness, Vaki Dhaval, was on his way home after having a meal with friends saw that Mr Mason with his hand in front of him in a defensive manner telling Allan to ‘stay away.’
‘He continued to watch, and it appeared to him that it was all over as both men seemed to be walking away in different directions, but then, for no apparent reason the defendant punched Mr Mason, knocking him off his feet,’ said Ms Bickerstaff.
‘He saw the assault and heard Mr Allan say, after he had punched the victim to the ground, ‘Where is your fight now? Show me your fight now!’
‘He saw that the defendant continued shouting as if he was trying to see if there was any possibility to continue the attack.’
Eyewitness Gary McGuinness told the court he had been drinking with a friend when he saw the fight.
‘The guy looked up across the road and essentially just ran across the road towards this person who’d just answered the phone and began a scuffle, a dramatic looking scuffle.
‘What was happening in front of my eyes didn’t make sense so I was trying to comprehend it, were these people friends? Was this a jackass thing or a joke?
‘It looked like some sort of lads banter in some weird way because it was so dramatic I couldn’t equate why it would be happening otherwise.
‘The gentleman who answered the phone then fell to the ground as part of the scuffle.
‘There was a moment when he managed to get back on his feet again, and then there was a kind of decisive hit, navy jacket man [Allan] hit the gentleman and caught him so he fell rigidly onto the pavement and it was an audible noise of his head hitting the ground.
‘He didn’t do anything to break his own fall, he was completely rigid and fell down like a plank of wood.
‘His head hitting the ground appeared to make a squelching noise, a horrible noise really.’
He said Allan then disappeared from the scene while members of the public tried to help Mr Mason.
Allan, of Hook, Hampshire, admitted manslaughter but denied and was cleared of murder.
Mr Mason was awarded Freedom of the City of London to recognise his business success and charitable work.
He lived in London but also had a home in Dorset and was a trustee of Lyme Regis Museum.