‘Judicial review must go ahead as rapist Worboys still a danger’
JOHN WORBOYS is still a danger to women, a senior prison source has told The Daily Telegraph, amid growing pressure on the Ministry of Justice to prevent the black cab rapist’s release.
Worboys, 60, is due to be freed from jail in the coming days after the Parole Board ruled last month that he no longer posed a risk.
When the board’s decision became public earlier this month it provoked outrage and David Gauke, the new Justice Secretary, is now considering a judicial review in an attempt to keep the serial sex attacker in jail. The prison source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “Worboys will remain a danger to the public. What David Gauke is rightly doing is trying every avenue to try and stop Worboys’s release.”
Worboys was convicted of one rape and five sexual assaults but is believed to have attacked at least 100 women while working as a black cab driver before his eventual conviction in 2009.
He was given an indeterminate prison sentence and ordered to serve a minimum eight years in jail.
The Ministry of Justice announced yesterday it was seeking a legal review of the decision made by Parole Board, an independent body which it finances.
A ministry spokesman said: “Mr Gauke commissioned, mid-last week, advice on the plausibility of a judicial review and the prospect of success of any judicial review. [He] is minded to move forward only if there was a reasonable prospect of success.”
The grounds for a review will centre on the evidence presented to the Parole Board that supposedly demonstrates that Worboys is no longer a threat, and the alleged failure to consult with his victims.
Brandon Lewis, the Conservative Party chairman, yesterday told the BBC: “Every victim out there, every friend and family of victims, everybody who has read about this case will want to know that we are doing everything we can to make sure that the victims are properly protected. The Justice Secretary will be doing everything he can to make sure this man stays behind bars.”
Victims’ lawyers welcomed the possibility of a judicial review, which they had been pressing for.
Richard Scorer, a lawyer from Slater and Gordon, which represents 11 of Worboys’ victims – none of whom were told he had been granted parole – said: “Our clients feel like they have been deeply let down by the justice system. We hope that Mr Gauke’s comments are followed up with action.
“We believe this manipulative, dangerous serial sex offender is still a danger to the public and releasing him now would put many women at risk.”