Police have told the BBC that French national Kevin Kerjean was granted leave to remain in the United Kingdom in 2021 and that his permission was subsequently extended until 2031. The statement naming Kevin Kerjean was issued as detectives continue an active murder inquiry; authorities stressed the immigration detail comes from their operational checks and the criminal allegations are unproven.
What police say about Kevin Kerjean
In a public update reported by BBC News, officers named Kevin Kerjean and said he had been granted leave to remain in the UK in 2021, with that permission later extended to 2031. Police identified him as a French national in the statement and linked the information to ongoing enquiries in a suspected homicide.
Police said the details about his immigration status were drawn from checks carried out during the investigation. They asked anyone with relevant information to contact detectives and warned that some lines of inquiry remain under verification. The force emphasised that any criminal allegations against individuals are matters for the courts to determine.
Officers also made clear that operational updates are limited while enquiries proceed, and that the naming and status information was provided to place the investigation in context for the public. No charge or conviction information was contained in the initial release.
Immigration status explained
“Leave to remain” is a legal term for permission to reside in the UK. It can be given for a set period, as part of a route to settlement, or under specific visa categories for work, study or family reasons. The Home Office is responsible for granting, recording and, where appropriate, extending that permission.
When a police statement reports that a person was “granted leave to remain in 2021” and later had that leave “extended to 2031,” it is reporting what appears in Home Office records or in documentation obtained during enquiries. Extensions can reflect renewed permission under the same visa category, a change of status, or successful applications to prolong lawful residence.
Procedures for extending permission to remain vary by the route and individual circumstances. Some extensions follow formal applications to the Home Office and can take weeks to months to decide; others reflect administrative updates when an individual is awarded a longer-term status. Public reporting of immigration status is sensitive and typically requires confirmation from official records before being treated as definitive.
Legal and reporting cautions
The police description of an individual as a “murder suspect” or similar term describes an allegation under investigation. Such language should be treated as unproven until a court determines guilt or otherwise. News outlets and policing bodies routinely note the provisional nature of allegations for legal and ethical reasons.
Police statements about immigration status are part of investigative records but do not constitute legal findings about an individual’s rights or obligations under immigration law. Verification of leave to remain normally rests with the Home Office’s records, which can be checked by investigators or via formal requests where necessary.
Reporting on immigration details alongside criminal allegations requires care. Naming individuals can have serious consequences for privacy and for the integrity of a criminal process, which is why many organisations emphasise the presumption of innocence and avoid presenting allegations as established fact.
What happens next
Police said enquiries would continue. Typical next steps in such an investigation include forensic examinations, witness and suspect interviews, review of CCTV or other digital evidence, and checks of travel, financial and residency records that might be relevant to the case.
As part of routine investigative work, officers may ask the Home Office to confirm details of an individual’s immigration record. That confirmation can establish dates and types of leave recorded by immigration authorities, but it is not a determination of criminal responsibility.
If sufficient evidence is gathered, prosecutors may consider charges and the matter could move to court, where guilt or innocence will be determined. Until then, police and the public must treat allegations as subject to verification and legal process.
We will update this article if the police release further information or if official records are confirmed by the Home Office or other authorities.
Source
Reporting in this article is based on the police statement as reported by BBC News. For the original report, see: Murder suspect had leave to remain, say police — BBC News.
Sources: BBC News reporting and the police statement cited therein.
