The father of murdered beautician Elle Edwards has condemned the possible early release of Thomas Waring, who assisted her killer, as a "kick in the teeth." Waring could be freed from prison by October under the government's early release scheme, according to Tim Edwards.
Background of the Case
Elle Edwards was shot dead on Christmas Eve 2022 when Connor Chapman opened fire with a Skorpion submachine gun outside the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey. Chapman was sentenced to a minimum of 48 years in prison. Waring, who helped Chapman burn a getaway car and refused to give evidence at trial, was sentenced to nine years in July 2023 for possession of a prohibited weapon, assisting an offender, and failing to comply with a disclosure notice.
Early Release Scheme
The early release scheme, introduced by the Labour government to ease prison overcrowding, allows certain prisoners to be released on licence after serving 40% of their sentence. Tim Edwards told the ECHO on Tuesday that he believes Waring will be released by October. He spoke to a Probation Service victim liaison officer on Monday, who confirmed there would be no change in Waring's case.
Mr Edwards said: "For people like us, especially in Elle's case, the person who assisted in her murder fits the criteria for early release. It's like a kick in the teeth. It just shows that the families, the victims, don't get a say in any of this. It just shows they don't care. It's devastating to take."
Concerns About the Murder Weapon
Mr Edwards also expressed concern that Waring might know where the murder weapon is hidden. He said: "The gun has never been found. That gun is still out there. So what's to stop him coming out and picking that gun up again? There's nothing to stop him doing that, is there?"
Government Response
Mr Edwards wrote to Prime Minister Andy Burnham last week but received no response. He said: "I asked him to just look at the criteria that people are going to be under or fit to get the early release, and there was no response. Obviously the reason why was because they were never going to change it. I put that more on the Ministry of Justice because they just won't change, they don't want to change, they're all about number crunching."
More than 70,000 prisoners have been released early in England and Wales so far. A further 5,000 are expected to be released under sentencing changes later this year, with the release date moved from September to October to allow the Probation Service to prepare. Those released will face tougher conditions, including electronic monitoring and random drug testing.
Justice Secretary Alex Norris said victims' families are "carrying the can" for previous governments' failure to build enough prison places. Speaking at HMP Welland Oaks, he said: "Those are very, very difficult conversations because, quite rightly, families are really upset about it and they feel that they're carrying the can for previous failures, and they're right. That shouldn't be the case." He added: "We wanted to go further. We couldn't. We can't and then still have a viable prison estate."
