Mum takes her fight for justice to Parliament

PETITION DEMANDS INQUIRY INTO UNSOLVED MURDER OF SON

A MUM calling for a new investigation into the unsolved murder of her son has handed a petition to Parliament.

Tracey McCafferty from Huddersfield gave the petition, backed by more than 12,000 people, to Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

The petition calls on Boris Johnston’s Government to order a new investigation into the death of Tracey’s son Joe in a house fire in Marsh, Huddersfield. Tracey claims that previous investigations have been “unsatisfactory”.

Joe was seven when someone poured petrol through the letterbox of Tracey’s sister’s house in Haywood Avenue, at 5am on May 3, 1997. A petrol container was found at the scene. His family says people in Huddersfield know who did it.

Following the petition handover, Tracey said: “It was a fantastic day – handing the signatures in, then Barry Sheerman gave us a tour around the Houses of Parliament.

“I also sat in the House of Commons – the Speaker of the House gave me a wave along with other officials. I’m very happy with how the day went. Barry will be mentioning Joe in the House of Commons as we are wanting an independent public inquiry.

“Barry couldn’t have done any more than he did yesterday, it was an amazing day to remember.”

Mr Sheerman previously told YorkshireLive that he supported the family’s fight for justice and would continue to do what he can to help.

The MP is writing to Home Secretary

Priti Patel to call for an independent commission into the case. He met with Tracey and family members yesterday in Parliament to accept the petition and discuss the case.

After the meeting he said: “It was a great pleasure to see Tracey again and a privilege to be able to show her around my place of work. We had an excellent and productive discussion around her case, and I will be asking the Home Secretary to convene an independent panel to review the investigation.

“The petition will be laid before Parliament, and will show the Home Secretary that there is a lot of support for the campaign to find justice for Joe.”

Tracey and her supporters have protested outside Huddersfield police station and Mr Sheerman’s office in the recent past.

She has also complained to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, the police watchdog body.

The IOPC concluded that there was no evidence that the police investigation was inadequate.

The petition will show there is a lot of support for the campaign to find justice for Joe

MP Barry Sheerman