Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd is being extradited from Georgia to the UK, where he was convicted in absentia for manslaughter.

The 31-year-old vanished while on bail over the manslaughter of Charlotte Brown, who died while the pair were on a champagne-fuelled first date on the River Thames.

It is believed his defective speedboat overturned after striking a submerged log in December 2015 – throwing the 24-year-old woman into the icy water.

Shepherd spent 10 months on the run, but turned himself in to a police station in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi in January.

On Wednesday, pictures showed Shepherd in handcuffs as he was led by uniformed officers into a secure cell in the back of a van.

He is being escorted by Metropolitan Police officers on the flight back to the UK, and Shepherd is expected to be brought before an Old Bailey judge on Thursday before he starts his six-year prison sentence.

In December 2018, he was granted permission to appeal against the conviction.

Shepherd’s surrender came after repeated public appeals by Ms Brown’s family for him to face justice for her death.

After his extradition was granted by a court last month, her family said he had a weak case and “no choice” but to return.

Speaking in Tbilisi in the days before his extradition, Shepherd apologised to Ms Brown’s family – however, he insisted that her actions had caused the deadly accident.

No date has been set for Shepherd’s appeal hearing, with the Crown Prosecution Service and the Metropolitan Police declining to comment on the case in advance of his arrival back in the UK.

Tariel Kakabadze, Shepherd’s lawyer, told reporters in Georgia: “He agreed to the extradition request because he believes that it’s very important for him to participate in court hearings in the appeal court in the United Kingdom.

“He wants to answer all those important questions which exist in this case and which are not proven by any evidences. And we believe that his testimony will be very important evidence for the judges to make [a] final decision.”

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