The Home Secretary has been asked why a twice-convicted killer was allowed into the UK to murder a much-loved dad just three weeks later.

Dumitru Palazu, 48, was jailed for life on Tuesday after he was found guilty of murdering Alexandru Constantinescu at a caravan park on the outskirts of Canterbury.

At his trial it emerged he had twice been imprisoned before for killing people in his native Romania, and only arrived in England just a month after being released from his latest stint behind bars.

He touched down on English soil on March 13 this year, and on April 7 stabbed 30-year-old Mr Constantinescu at Brotherhood Wood in Dunkirk, leaving him fatally wounded.

Helen Whately, the Conservative MP for the area at time of his death, has demanded to know how Palazu was allowed into the UK, and has written to the Home Secretary, Priti Patel.

“This is truly shocking,” she told the Kentish Gazette.

“I’ve written to the Home Secretary to ask how Dumitru Palazu was allowed into this country and what is being done to stop criminals coming here from abroad.”

Palazu lived on the caravan park with his wife and a number of other Romanians, including Mr Constantinescu.

On April 7, during an altercation between rival factions, Palazu ran 35 metres towards Mr Constantinescu and stabbed him through the heart.

Video footage filmed by a witness showed the moment he inflicted the fatal wound.

Despite the best efforts of paramedics, Mr Constantinescu died at the scene about an hour later.

Palazu left the area and was seen pacing up and down the central reservation of the nearby A2 before he went into hiding.

He handed himself into Canterbury police station the following evening and was remanded in custody.

He denied murder, but was found guilty by a jury at Maidstone Crown Court on Tuesday.

The court had earlier heard how Palazu had twice been jailed for killing two people in his native country.

In May 1989, while drinking with friends, he kicked his first victim, Anghel Aurelian, in the chin, causing him to lose his balance and fall.

He hit his head on a concrete platform, suffering a traumatic brain injury which led to his death.

Twenty years later, in 2009, he punched and kicked his father-in-law, Cotac Constantin, in the head after a drinking session

He died from his injuries and Palazu was jailed for 12 years for causing bodily harm resulting in his death.

But just a month after his release from prison in February, Palazu was allowed to enter the UK.

Under Freedom of Movement rules, EU nationals travelling to Britain are not automatically required to declare criminal records.

But foreign criminals deemed to be "a possible threat to public safety" may be flagged up or placed on Interpol watchlists by their home countries, triggering warnings about their criminal past when they attempt to cross borders.

KMTV report on the sentencing of Palazu

In August, Boris Johnson announced his intention to tighten immigration rules after Brexit, with EU criminals who have been jailed for a year or more expected to be barred from entry to the UK.

Asked about Palazu, the Home Office refused to comment on his case.

A spokesman would only say: “Every passenger arriving in the UK at passport control is checked against security and immigration watchlists on arrival at the border.

“Where we are made aware of individuals who pose a risk, Border Force officers can and do refuse them entry.”

To read more of our in depth coverage of all of the major trials coming out of crown and magistrates' courts across the county, click here.

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