Tyson allowed back into Britain for fight

Tyson will fight fellow American Lou Savarese on June 24 in Glasgow despite furious opposition from Scottish politicians and women8217;s groups. Straw said in reaching his decision he had taken into account Tyson8217;s quot;satisfactoryquot; behaviour on his visit to Britain last January, when he defeated British boxer Julius Francis in just over four minutes.

He said refusing Tyson entry into Britain would quot;result in a loss of economic benefit to the UK8230;and would not enhance the UK8217;s standing as a venue for major sporting eventsquot;.

Under British immigration rules, anyone who has been convicted of an offence that carries a jail sentence of more than 12 months is refused entry unless there are quot;strong compassionate or exceptional reasonsquot; for the visit.

Tyson was convicted in the United States in 1992 for the rape of an 18-year-old beauty pageant contestant and served three years of a six-year sentence.