More than 600 of Britain’s most dangerous criminals could be blocked from release every year in a move to toughen up parole rules.
The new Victims and Prisoners bill would give the Justice Secretary a veto to automatically block the release of the worst offenders including murderers, rapists, and terrorists.
Parole boards will also be required to prioritise public safety over the rights of the prisoners, which is currently described as a ‘balancing act’.
An insider told The Sun: ‘People want to know the most dangerous offenders will be locked up until they no longer pose a threat.
‘Our changes will keep people safe by strengthening the release test so it is entirely about public protection, not prisoners’ rights — and giving ministers the final say in the most serious cases.’
Andrew Barlow (left) and Baby P’s mother Tracey Connelly could have both been kept in jail under the reforms
A serial sex attacker dubbed the ‘Coronation Street rapist’ had his release approved last month despite Dominic Raab challenging the decision through his existing powers as Justice Secretary.
Andrew Barlow, 66, formerly called Longmire, was locked up in October 1988 after being convicted of 11 rapes, three attempted rapes, indecent assault and using a firearm to resist arrest.
His tariff was fixed at 20 years and in the decades that followed he was linked to more offending as previously unsolved cases were cracked.
Between 1981 and 1988 he went on two separate campaigns of terror, raping women in five different counties.
Mr Raab would have been able to block Barlow’s release under the new rules.
He could have also prevented the release of Tracey Connelly, the mother of Baby P, in June last year.
Connelly was given an indefinite term with a minimum of five years in 2009 for causing or allowing the death of 17-month-old Peter in Tottenham, North London, in August 2007.
Gary Glitter (left) was released from jail before being returned after allegedly accessing the ‘dark web’. Murderer Robert Brown is due for automatic release
Lorraine Thorpe was just 15 when she killed her father, Desmond, 43, and Rosalyn Hunt, 41. She is set for a parole hearing
The child suffered 50 injuries at the hands of his mother, stepfather, Steven Barker and Barker’s brother Jason Owen, with mistakes by social workers meaning medics missed vital warning signs.
Connelly was given parole despite another attempt by Mr Raab to intervene.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘The Justice Secretary has said he will introduce reforms to protect the public and better support victims when parliamentary time allows.’
Some parole hearings are now held in public in a bid to increase transparency around the process.
Earlier this month Charles Bronson, Britain’s ‘most dangerous prisoner’ told a panel he was now a ‘man of peace’ and thus ready for release.
A panel of three considered his case at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, while members of the press and public watched on a live stream from the Royal Courts of Justice in central London.
Wife killer Russell Causley was the first inmate to have his parole bid heard in public
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab would have the power to block the release of dangerous prisoners under the reforms
The outcome in his case is yet to be announced.
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Wife killer Russell Causley was the first inmate to have his parole bid heard in public.
He was handed a life sentence for killing Carole Packman, who disappeared in 1985, a year after he moved his lover into the family home in Bournemouth, Dorset.
After serving more than 23 years for the murder, Causley was freed from prison in 2020 but sent back to prison after he breached the terms of his release.
Samantha Gillingham, daughter of Ms Packman and Causley, said that she was disappointed at the Parole Board’s decision and branded the process a ‘tick box exercise’.
In January Mr Raab called Causley a ‘calculated killer’ and said he was considering appealing the decision.
From Britain’s ‘most violent inmate’ to murders, paedophiles and terrorists: Criminals who’ve bid for parole in the last year
Tracey Connelly: Baby P’s mother was given an indefinite term with a minimum of five years in 2009 for causing or allowing the death of 17-month-old Peter in Tottenham, North London, in August 2007.
Status – Released in June.
Andrew Barlow: The 66-year-old was locked up for 20 years in October 1988 after being convicted of 11 rapes, three attempted rapes, indecent assault and using a firearm to resist arrest.
Status – Released this year.
Charles Bronson: The 70-year-old was jailed for seven years in 1974 after being convicted of armed robbery. But he’s constantly been given more jail time after taking 11 hostages behind bars.
Status – Not decided.
Charles Bronson was the second prisoner to have their parole hearing held in public
Robert Brown: The British Airways pilot battered his estranged wife Joanna Simpson to death with a claw hammer within earshot of their two young children. He was given 24 years for manslaughter and a further two years for an offence of obstructing a coroner in the execution of his duty.
Status – Due for automatic release.
Gary Glitter: The former pop star was recalled to jail after allegedly being caught trying to access the ‘dark web’ just 38 days after being freed. The paedophile, 78, was seen browsing on a smartphone in a bail hostel, breaking the licence conditions of his release. He originally got a 16-year jail term for abusing young girls.
Status – Recalled to prison.
Patrick Mackay: The 70-year-old has spent 47 years in prison for three killings, but previously admitted to eight more. The serial killer then retracted his admissions over the eight murders but will now have to convince a Parole Board that he was lying about those initial confessions.
Status – Set for parole hearing.
Serial killer Patrick Mackay will bid for freedom at a parole hearing later this year
Russell Causley: He was handed a life sentence for killing Carole Packman, who disappeared in 1985, a year after he moved his lover into the family home in Bournemouth, Dorset. After serving more than 23 years for the murder, Causley was freed from prison in 2020 but sent back to prison after he breached the terms of his release.
Status – Released.
Lorraine Thorpe: Thorpe was just 15 when she killed her father, Desmond, 43, and Rosalyn Hunt, 41, in Ipswich, Suffolk, in August 2009. Thorpe, who had been part of Ipswich’s street-drinking culture since she was 13, was convicted alongside her ‘role model’, Paul Clarke, then aged 41, and sentenced to a minimum of 14 years at the Old Bailey.
Status – Set for parole hearing.
