Mairead release ‘too soon’
‘The idea that such a foul woman is going to have her liberty while her children lie in their graves, is one which no right-minded person can easily contemplate’ - MP
MID Derbyshire MP Pauline Latham has spoken of her dismay after it was revealed Mairead Philpott would be released from prison after serving half her sentence for the manslaughter of her six children in a fire.
Jade Philpott, 10, and brothers John, nine, Jack, seven, Jesse, six, and Jayden, five, died on the morning of the Derby blaze on 11 May 2012.
Emergency services were called to their home in Victory Road, Allenton, in the early hours after Mairead made a frantic 999 call reporting a fire at the property.
She and her husband sband Mick were outside in the he back garden while a number of neighbours urs had tried unsuc- cessfully to save the children.
The five youngest were pulled from the fire but were declared dead the same day. Duwayne, the eldest, was taken to Birmingham Children’s Hospital where he died later.
During a seven week trial at Nottingham Crown Court, the prosecution say Mick Philpott was due in family court in Derby on the morning of the blaze to contest custody of five of his other children he had with another woman.
They said Philpott had hatched a plan to start a fire, rescue his children and frame a former mistress but that it had gone tragically wrong.
The court was told Philpott started the fire with friend Paul Mosley but that Mairead was aware of the plot.
The court was told Philpott lived on benefits but Mairead worked as a cleaner at London Road Hospital and he controlled all her finances.
In April 2013, after two days of deliberations, the jury found the couple and Mosley guilty of six counts of manslaughter.
Philpott was jailed for life and told it would be 15 years before he would be eligible for parole. His wife and Mosley were sentenced to 17 years.
Now it has emerged that Mairead, now 39, will be released on parole next month.
Mrs Latham said: “This is absolutely shocking. The Philpotts’ crime was the worst in Derby in living memory, if not ever.
“The idea that such a foul woman is going to have her liberty while her children lie in their graves, is one which no right right-minded mind person can easily contemplate.” con
“It is i too soon after the deaths of the chi children. They are st still fresh in the minds of the people of Derby who remain disgusted by this ghastly trio.
“It was always ga galling that the Sta State paid for the Philp Philpotts’ lifestyle and n now we have the extra kick in the teeth that the taxpayer will have to pay for her security when she comes out of jail.
“I shall certainly seek assurances that she will not be returning to the area because of the obvious problems that could cause.
“I would have hoped she would stay in much longer, so that time could have been given a chance to heal.”
A spokesman for the Prison Service confirmed that Mairead is being released next month at the halfway point of her custodial sentence, stressing that she is not being released early.
He said: “Offenders released on licence face strict conditions and can be returned to prison if they breach them.”