Care worker: Phillip Machemedze, 47, worked as a carer in Britain illegally - despite being one of Robert Mugabe's henchmen. Today he avoided jail

One of Robert Mugabe's former henchman avoided jail today despite fraudulently earning £150,000 in Britain working as a carer.

Phillip Machemedze, 47, worked in the drug and alcohol recovery unit at The Priory for five years without a visa.

The defendant also worked for seven years as a support worker for the Milestones Trust, a charity aiding people with learning disabilities.

After the sentencing a Tory MP said it was a 'disgrace' that people who had committed crimes abroad to hide behind the Human Rights Act and stay in Britain.

Machemedze, previously employed by the Zimbabwean dictator, successfully applied for asylum to the UK last year - allowing him and his wife to permanently stay in the country.

He was allowed to stay in Britain even though an immigration hearing was told he broke one victim's jaw with pliers and shocked another person with electric cables while working for Mugabe.

Machemedze - who is now unemployed and looking to claim benefits - admitted two charges of obtaining pecuniary advantage by deception.

But he was told he would keep his liberty if he volunteered for just half a day a week at his local Pentecostal church.

Judge Julian Lambert, deferred his sentence for six months, and said: 'I require you to work hard with your church to make better the lives of the poor and needy.

'You should bring letters to show the good work you have done. I expect you to devote half a day each week to serving the community through your church.

'If I see you have done good work when you return and I have your promise that you will continue that good work I shall give you your liberty.'

Machemedze, who lives in Bristol with his wife Febbie, was a bodyguard to a senior minister as part of Mugabe's feared Central Intelligence Organisation.

Richard Posner, prosecuting at Bristol Crown Court, said Machemedze had flown into London Gatwick from Zimbabwe in July 2000 and was given a six-month visa but prohibited from working.

Dictator: Robert Mugabe's former henchman was working as a carer

At the end of the period he stayed in Britain working illegally as a carer at an adolescent unit within The Priory, a drug and alcohol recovery hospital, in Stapleton, Bristol, from June 2005 to May 2010.

He also admitted being a support worker for Milestones Trust, a charity aiding people with learning disabilities and mental health needs, from May 2003 to May 2010.

Bristol Crown Court sat in chambers to discuss his case, as it featured issues that were beyond the jurisdiction of the country and because of concerns for the safety of individuals abroad.

But when it reconvened in public, the court heard Machemedze had illegally secured jobs by getting through several checks, including an enhanced criminal record bureau check.

To obtain employment the Zimbabwean had also been able to provide the Home Office letter, a National insurance number as well as birth and marriage certificates.

Mr Posner said in April 2005 the HR manager at the Milestones Trust received a tip-off that Machemedze was working illegally.

He told the court: 'At a subsequent meeting the defendant provided a letter from the Home Office confirming he was allowed to work in the UK.

'That letter was deemed satisfactory and he was allowed to continue to work.

'This case is primarily the use of that Home Office letter in order to create a deception that the defendant was legally allowed to work here.'

Mr Posner said when Machemedze successfully obtained work with The Priory, he claimed he had worked in UK care since 1999 - but did not arrive until the following year.

The court was told that in the seven-year period he had worked Machemedze took home a net income of around £151,000, before he applied for asylum.

An immigration judge decided Machemedze could face torture if he was returned home in May 2010.

He ruled that the African and his wife - who was also granted asylum - could stay in Britain indefinitely and earn a living.

Jane Chamberlain, defending, said her client now had indefinite leave to remain in the country and was allowed to work but was now unemployed and seeking benefits.

Speaking after the hearing, Conservative MP Chris Skidmore labelled the case a 'disgrace'.

Mr Skidmore, who represents Kingswood, Bristol, said: 'It's a disgrace that our system allows these people who have committed crimes elsewhere to remain in this country.

'It's ludicrous that people can hide behind the Human Rights Act in order to prevent themselves from being sent back to their own country to face justice.'

By Daily Mail