Killer’s legal aid MUST be stopped, says minister
SPEEDBOAT killer Jack Shepherd should have his legal aid cut off until he returns to face justice, a Cabinet minister has said.
James Brokenshire called it ‘astonishing’ that the fugitive is receiving legal aid in order to lodge an appeal against a six-year sentence for killing 24-year-old Charlotte Brown.
The Housing Secretary’s dramatic intervention comes a day after Theresa May told the runaway to give himself up to police and called the case ‘shocking’.
Mr Brokenshire, a former lawyer, rounded on Shepherd’s solicitors for refusing to co-operate with police in their hunt for the callous killer, saying their attitude was ‘surprising, at best’.
He has been involved in the ‘appalling’ case since 2016, when he was contacted by Charlotte’s father Graham, who lives in his Old Bexley and Sidcup constituency.
Mr Brokenshire said he wanted to see Shepherd, 31, ‘behind bars’, adding: ‘He has shown utter contempt for the family... and utter contempt for the justice process.
‘He is literally sticking two fingers up to justice. That is just unacceptable. It is right that all police and other resources are deployed to see he is brought to justice.’ The Daily Mail has offered a £25,000 reward for information leading to Shepherd’s capture – a move Mr Brokenshire said had been ‘very helpful’.
Charlotte was killed in December 2015 on a date with Shepherd, who took her for a spin in his speedboat on the Thames in London while drunk. She died when his boat flipped over at speed.
Shepherd, who is also wanted for allegedly glassing a Devon pub barman in the face in a separate incident, has run up a legal aid bill totalling almost £100,000.
Justice Secretary David Gauke has asked officials to look at whether to close an apparent loophole in the law that allows criminals to claim public money to appeal against convictions while they are on the run.
Mr Brokenshire, a former Home Office minister, said there was a clear case for action.
‘I think it is astonishing that legal aid could continue to be provided to someone for effectively a challenge to a criminal prosecution against which he has fled and against which he is now seeking to appeal, which has caused huge upset to the family,’ he said.
Calling for a change in the law, he added: ‘These are very specific circumstances. Legal aid to protect a right of appeal is one thing. But then advancing that appeal when you are not even prepared to face the judgment of the court that has been handed down, not prepared to hand yourself in – to try to game the system in some way, I think that is unacceptable.’
Shepherd’s solicitor Richard Egan this week said he would give no help to police to trace the killer.
Mr Egan, of Tuckers Solicitors, told ITV News: ‘He is entitled to contact his lawyer. I have a duty to act in his best interests. I’m not part of the police... interactions with Mr Shepherd are privileged.’