Britain's most notorious killers, including those who dragged PC Andrew Harper to his death, will be denied early release under new government proposals. Andy Burnham intervened to block the release of the thugs, and his urgent intervention means those convicted of manslaughter will not be eligible for early release.
Campaigners Welcome the Move
This signals the end of soft justice for killers like British Airways pilot Robert Brown, 62, who bludgeoned his wife Joanna Simpson to death in 2010 within earshot of their two young children. He launched the attack following years of domestic abuse and came within a week of their divorce being finalised. He then buried her in a pre-dug grave at Great Windsor Park, Berks.
Brown was jailed for 26 years, the longest sentence ever handed out for a manslaughter conviction, after arguing that he was suffering from adjustment disorder at the time of the attack. Today Joanna's mother, campaigner Diana Parkes, 87, welcomed the Prime Minister's intervention.
She said: "It shows that we, the victims, are always treated like the criminals. But the announcement today is fantastic. There should be no early release for manslaughter, it's so akin to murder. In our case it was definitely premeditated and we have had to fight for everything."
"I also believe domestic abuse should be included, because there are many cases where it can lead to murder. [Brown] didn't turn up before a parole board hearing, he said it was a kangaroo court. But he shouldn't be released until 2036, he is a danger to women."
Other Cases Affected
Others who may have profited from the early release scheme include Valdo Calocane. The knifeman fatally stabbed students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and school caretaker Ian Coates, 65, to death on the streets of Nottingham. He then stole Coates's van in June 2023 and used it to drive into three other people, seriously injuring them. Calocane, 34, admitted three counts of manslaughter and three counts of attempted murder on the basis of diminished responsibility, and was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order in January 2024.
Writing on social media, Barnaby's mother, Emma Webber, 53, welcomed the move but criticised delays in introducing the measures. In a response to Justice Secretary Alex Norris, she said: "It's the right thing to do. But why has it taken so long, and why have we, as victim's who have suffered so much already, had to add more trauma to make you listen? That's not the right thing to do."
Those convicted of murder are already excluded from the early release scheme, as well as rapists and child sex offenders, but manslaughter cases were yet to be ruled out. Under proposals announced today, Labour plan to block the release of those convicted of all forms of manslaughter, death by dangerous driving and causing or allowing the death of a child.
Families Urge Wider Exemptions
It came after BBC sports commentator John Hunt joined bereaved relatives asking Labour to block more killers from being freed under the early release scheme. His wife Carol, 61, and daughters Hannah, 28, and Louise, 25, were murdered by rapist Kyle Clifford in a crossbow attack in 2024. Despite Clifford not being eligible for early release, John, 61, and surviving daughter Amy, 32, signed an open letter to Mr Norris calling for inmates convicted of voluntary manslaughter to be barred from the scheme. The letter, backed by more than 30 bereaved families, says there is a "growing sense that justice for victims [is] being compromised".
John and Penny Clough, the parents of Jane Clough, 26, who was found with multiple stab wounds outside Blackpool Victoria Hospital on 25 July 2010, also signed the letter. Jonathan Vass, 30, of Preston, a former ambulance worker and father of her baby, got life after admitting murder. Also named on the list was Josh Rook, whose sister Annabel Rook was murdered by her partner Clifton George in 2025. George, 45, punched and tried to strangle mother-of-two Annabel Rook before stabbing her 31 times when she tried to end their 10-year relationship. He then blew up their home in a gas explosion in a bid to cover his tracks.
The families said they had "deep concerns about how early release may apply in homicide". They wrote: "As the government considers excluding unlawful act manslaughter from the scheme, it must follow that all forms of manslaughter are also excluded. We have spoken with numerous bereaved families affected by homicide. A consistent theme has emerged: many feel that victims are being asked to bear the consequences of the prison capacity crisis through the earlier release of those convicted of the most serious offences."
"Whether intended or not, this is creating a growing sense that justice for victims and public protection are being compromised in order to address pressures elsewhere in the system. We therefore urge the government, as it seeks to prevent those responsible for the killing of PC Harper from benefiting from the early release scheme, to ensure that voluntary manslaughter is also brought within the proposed exemption."
More Killers Denied Freedom
Notorious cases who will now be stopped from release include a former police officer who killed a nurse after she threatened to expose their affair to his wife. Timothy Brehmer, from Hordle, Hampshire, was jailed for 10 years and six months for the manslaughter of 41-year-old Claire Parry in Dorset in 2020, a sentence later increased to 13 years and six months by the Court of Appeal. Brehmer, who was a PC with Dorset Police, strangled Parry at a pub car park in West Parley after she texted his wife: "I am cheating on you."
Meanwhile a driver who mowed down and killed a couple at 87mph on an icy country lane will also be denied his freedom. Scott Gunn, 38, was jailed for causing death by dangerous driving after he floored the accelerator to push his new 2.5-tonne BMW X5 nearly 30mph over the speed limit on the freezing lane in January 2024. Tom Corkery, 61, and his wife, Sue, 68, were killed by Gunn as they walked a friend's dog in the village of Bearsted, Kent. They had been preparing for a retirement of travel, adventure and family time after paying off their mortgage just a week before. Gunn was jailed for 16 years after the judge criticised him for showing little or no remorse over the couple's death, and ordered that he serve two thirds of his sentence in prison.
Elsewhere a driver who killed a pregnant mother-of-two after speeding on a motorway will fall under the new legislation. Adil Iqbal was jailed for 12 years for causing the death of Frankie Jules-Hough by dangerous driving on the M66 in Bury on 13 May 2023. Court of Appeal judges said that term was unduly lenient and increased Iqbal's sentence to 15 years.
Another case affected by the new rules are the man jailed after a teen boy was killed with a zombie knife. Daejaun Campbell, 15, was found on the street in Woolwich, south-east London, after he was fatally stabbed with the blade in September 2024. Two men were convicted in relation to his death. Imre Doue was found guilty of murder and sentenced to a minimum 21 years in prison last October. Meanwhile, Marko Balaz was convicted of manslaughter and was jailed for a minimum term of 11 years. Daejaun's mother, Jodian Taylor, previously said Balaz is being considered for early release while Doue intends to appeal his sentence.
Killers who also allowed the deaths of young children will also be denied early release. They include the likes of Dana Carr, whose two-year-old daughter, Maya Chappell, was shaken to death by Michael Daymond in Shotton Colliery, Co Durham, in 2022. Carr was jailed for nine years for allowing the death of a child and child cruelty by neglect. Daymond was jailed for 20 years after being convicted of the child's murder. Gemma Chappell, Maya's great aunt, said the family had been told that Carr was eligible for early release.
