The sister of a student killed by a drink driver four times over the limit has demanded Andy Burnham keep her killer behind bars amid the fallout from Labour's disastrous early release scheme, which could see 5,000 criminals set free in months.
Rosie Shepherd, 31, lost her beloved little sister Fenella Hawes, 20, in 2022 when she was mown down on a pavement by Malcolm Waite, described by the arresting officer as the “drunkest I have ever seen behind the wheel”. Waite, 72, only stopped a mile down the road after he hit a lamppost.
Despite being found with a half-drunk bottle of vodka, Waite was sentenced to just eight years for causing death by dangerous driving, and a judge ruled he would only serve two-thirds behind bars. But Rosie and her family, from Cromer, in Norfolk, have now received the devastating news that he will be out within months under the early release scheme.
Prime Minister's U-Turn Sparks Fury
The Prime Minister had given a glimmer of hope to victims by pausing the scheme, but backtracked last Monday before jetting off on holiday, saying it would still apply to thousands of criminals, including killers and domestic abusers.
Labour claims the release of thousands of criminals will help tackle the prison overcrowding crisis, but families and victims fear misery will be heaped on them once more. Rosie said she was so full of rage she couldn't sleep the night Mr Burnham revealed the man who cruelly cut short her sister's life could be back on the streets.
“I was full of rage that night, I thought it was going to take them longer to reach a decision, and I was just so angry I couldn't sleep, I thought what on Earth am I going to do next?” said Rosie, a dental nurse and mum of three children, aged 12, 10 and 2.
Family's Anguish and Appeal
“He should not be released early, he's a danger to the public, there's nothing to say he won't do it again. He's a dangerous person, and he's killed someone; he shouldn't be released.”
“He's only got a seven-year driving ban, and quite often the ban doesn't deter people from getting in their car anyway. The fact he had no thought of life when he got into the car drunk and still didn't stop when he hit my sister shows he has no remorse for life.”
“We appealed the sentence as unduly lenient, but we kept being told my sister's life didn't matter because it was a first offence and it was only a car he used. If he had shot her, he would have got more, but because he was drunk behind the wheel of a car he got less. He shouldn't be getting early release for something he has only served four years in prison for killing someone.”
Rosie and her family appealed Waite's paltry eight-year term in 2023, but Court of Appeal judges said "there was nothing" wrong with the sentence. Rosie said she thought she had "failed" her sister because the Government were "not listening to us" over the early release scheme.
Burnham Accused of Running Away
“Andy Burnham has made a decision knowing questions will be asked by victims' families, and he's run away on holiday so he doesn't have to answer them, he's running scared,” she added.
“Our summer holidays have been put on hold because I am campaigning to understand why this is happening to my family. My husband and I and the children don't have the luxury of being able to do what the PM has done, we have even had to put beach days and things we would normally do over summer on hold because I have been fighting for this.”
“People are going to ask questions like I am, and the PM is not going to be there to answer them. I understand people have holidays, but this is very poorly timed, he's only been in the job five minutes. It feels like he just put out the decision on Monday so he could get away on holiday.”
In a chaotic few days last month, the Prime Minister frantically paused and ordered a review of early release after it emerged the killers of hero PC Andrew Harper, who was killed by quad bike thieves in 2019, were potentially eligible. But on Monday, just before leaving Britain for a two-week break, Mr Burnham admitted only inmates convicted of rape, grooming and serious child sex offences would now not be eligible – although questions have already been raised over fears some will slip through the net.
And the PM's hasty cut-off still means killers, such as those jailed over the death of PC Harper, and the drink driver who killed Fenella, could still be released. On Wednesday, Rosie received the heartbreaking news from the Probation Service that Waite was still eligible, in a letter which said he could be out as early as October.
Victims Left in the Dark
“They're not even giving us a date, it's a brief generic letter they obviously send to all of the victims,” said Rosie. “It's not personal to our case, it's just 'this is what's happening', and it's two days after I have heard the news on the media anyway.”
“I don't think the Government have looked at the timescale of how quickly they have put this on victims, families find it really hard to adjust to quick changes. When you are going through the different stages of grief throughout the years, and then you are told something suddenly, it really brings it back.”
Rosie, together with her local MP, Steff Aquarone, wrote to the Ministry of Justice on June 23 for clarification as to the reasons why Waite would be set free. The family only received a reply this week with a “generic response” repeating what the Prime Minister had said. During a radio appearance earlier this week, Justice Secretary Alex Norris said he would meet with Rosie and her family, but despite passing on her details, she is yet to hear anything from his office.
Wider Impact on Victims
Dental nurse Rosie said she felt for all the victims and families affected by the early release nightmare. She added: “I know our case is smaller in a way than PC Harper's. I was so stunned that the two convicted over his death were still being let out; I was really shocked by that.”
“Death by dangerous driving is always a lower charge and seen as a lesser crime, which it is not; it still causes a death. In my eyes, if you get behind the wheel of a car, then that is a weapon that you could kill someone with. Add in being four and a half times drunk, and it definitely increases your chances of doing someone harm.”
Fenella's mum and dad, Margaret Hawes and Ralph Hawes, both 64, have been left devastated by the death of their youngest daughter and find it hard to describe their pain. Rosie said her dad wanted to ask Mr Burnham if he would feel that justice had been served after four years if someone had killed your family or friend.
Fenella's family are not alone in their devastation at learning that criminals who killed their loved ones could be set loose from jail early. Calvin Buckley's partner Frankie Jules-Hough, a 38-year-old mum-of-two and former Hollyoaks actress, was killed in a crash on the M66 in 2023 by Adil Iqbal. Iqbal had filmed himself speeding at a stomach-churning 123mph before he hit Frankie, who was pregnant. Iqbal was jailed for an “insulting” 12 years after admitting causing death by dangerous driving.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Mr Buckley said: "I understand there is a crisis, I agree that it needs to be addressed, but not at the expense of victims. Our life was about the children, building a future together. She was 17 weeks pregnant when she died. We've had that taken away. Any offender of that category who has caused catastrophic injuries or death by dangerous driving, there is no way they should be up for early release."
MP and Politicians React
Steff Aquarone, Liberal Democrat MP for Rosie's constituency in North Norfolk, said the family had shown “extraordinary courage in speaking out, despite being forced to relive their grief by the prospect of her killer's early release”.
“I cannot accept that someone who was four times over the drink-drive limit, killed a young woman, and served just four years in prison can be considered for early release,” he said, “That is the case I have put directly to the Justice Secretary. So far, ministers have failed to answer the family's simple question: how can someone convicted of causing death by dangerous driving be eligible for this scheme, and how can a crime that took Fenella's life be treated as "non-violent" for release purposes? The Justice Secretary has now promised to meet Rosie. I intend to make sure he keeps that promise.”
Some 5,000 people are expected to be released early under sentencing changes, down from 6,000 after ministers excluded rapists and “serious” child sex offenders from the scheme designed to tackle overcrowding in jails.
Conservative MP Nick Timothy said: "This is yet another example of the human cost of Labour's appalling early release scheme. Rosie and her family suffered beyond words when Fenella was killed - we can only imagine how it feels to know her killer will walk free. Andy Burnham is refusing to say how many killers will be released early and will not confirm how he plans to stop releases starting on 2 September. This is an insult to victims and to the public. Conservatives will keep fighting to make sure killers, paedophiles and sex offenders stay behind bars. Labour has 4,000 places they could use, and 10,000 foreigners are currently occupying our prisons. They need to act now."
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "We have been clear that we wanted to go further and block more offenders from getting out sooner into their sentence, but could not do so without risking prisons reaching capacity and collapsing. If that happened, police could not make arrests, courts could not remand offenders, and there would be unchecked criminality on our streets. We are pulling every lever to protect the public and cut crime – building prison places at the fastest rate since the Victorian era, launching the biggest ever expansion of tagging to toughen community punishment and increasing support to victims, giving them a say in the strict licence conditions of offenders."
