Uganda gay sex case Briton Bernard Randall to be deported Published duration 22 January 2014

image copyright AP image caption Bernard Randall was arrested after thieves stole a laptop from his house

A British man who was facing charges in Uganda of possessing a gay sex video is to be deported, a court has ruled.

Retired Bernard Randall, 65, from Faversham in Kent, denied a charge of trafficking obscene publications.

Judge Hellen Ajio ordered Mr Randall should be deported from Uganda within 12 hours.

Mr Randall, who first appeared in court in Uganda in November, would have faced a possible two-year prison sentence if found guilty.

He was charged alongside his friend Albert Cheptoyek, 30, a Ugandan national with whom he shares a house.

Gross indecency charge

Mr Cheptoyek told the BBC's Catherine Byaruhanga that Mr Randall was being held in the court's cells awaiting his deportation.

Mr Cheptoyek has denied a more serious charge of carrying out "acts of gross indecency", which could see him jailed for up to seven years if found guilty.

Ms Byaruhanga said the charges against Mr Cheptoyek still stood as the trial against both men had not officially started.

The Foreign Office said it would not be commenting on Mr Randall's deportation.

Earlier a spokesman said they had been aware of the arrest and had provided consular assistance.

Mr Randall was arrested after thieves stole a laptop from his house. Stills from a video on it then appeared in a tabloid newspaper in the country.

Last week, Uganda's president refused to approve a controversial bill to toughen punishments for homosexuals in Uganda, where homosexual acts are already illegal.