Double child killer Colin Pitchfork's release from prison put on hold

27 July 2023 , 10:00

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Colin Pitchfork will remain in prison (Image: ENTERPRISE NEWS AND PICTURES)

Double child killer Colin Pitchfork's release from prison has been put on ice - after a judge ordered a review of his parole. Pitchfork, 63, was given the green light to walk free before Justice Secretary Alex Chalk asked the Parole Board to rethink their decision.

It followed criticism from victims' families who claimed they had been let down by the system. Now a judge has ordered a reconsideration of the decision, meaning the killer will remain in prison.

A spokesman for the Parole Board said: "An application for reconsideration was made by the Secretary of State for Justice in the case of Mr Pitchfork on 5 July 2023. That application challenged the Parole Board’s decision to direct release on 15 June 2023. A judge at the Parole Board considered the application for reconsideration and granted it upon making a finding of irrationality.

Dawn Ashworth was murdered by Colin Pitchfork in July 1986 (Mirrorpix)

"When assessing the application, the judge commented 'that the task of the panel [consisting of two judicial members and a psychologist] considering [Mr Pitchfork’s] release was a particularly complex and challenging one. It cannot have been assisted by the requirement to consider whether the recall was justified, in addition to the substantive issue of re-release'.

"Whilst the panel had correctly, as required by law, reviewed the appropriateness of Mr Pitchfork’s recall, and found that the decision to recall him was not justified.

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"It then needed to separately consider whether Mr Pitchfork’s continued detention was necessary for the protection of the public. However, having considered the application the judge has granted the Secretary of State’s application.

Lynda Mann was killed in 1983 (Mirrorpix)

"The judge considered that the panel had not placed sufficient weight on a number of factors in the evidence, which taken together meant that the decision was irrational."

Pitchfork was handed a life sentence for the rape and murder of 15-year-olds Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth in 1983 and 1986. After two failed bids he was finally granted parole in 2021. But two months later he was ordered back to prison for breaking the terms of his licence.

Last month it emerged he had changed his name twice while in prison in a bid to protect his ID when he is released. And parole bosses said that despite committing "shocking, serious offences, causing immeasurable harm to his victims", he no longer posed a risk to the public. They will now reconsider that decision.

Dan Warburton