London: British police on Thursday denounced the decision to free a notorious killer who shot dead two officers in 1966, calling it a “slap in the face” for the victims’ relatives.
Harry Roberts, now 78, and two associates were planning a robbery in a van in west London when they were approached by three unarmed plain-clothes police officers. Roberts shot two of them and his accomplice shot the third, killing all three.
“I am appalled to learn that police killer, Harry Roberts, is being released from prison,” said Steve White, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales which represents rank and file officers.
“Let’s not forget, this menace murdered three unarmed police officers in cold blood and it is abhorrent news,” White said in a statement.
He said the Parole Board’s decision was a “slap in the face” for the families of the slain officers which would “spark fury” among the police force.
Roberts went on the run for more than three months before he was finally arrested. He was sentenced to life in prison and the judge told him it was unlikely that any British Home Secretary (interior minister) would ever free him.
However, the Parole Board has now sanctioned his release although it was not clear when he would be let out of prison.
In May last year Home Secretary Theresa May said she would introduce legislation that “life really does mean life” for people who murder police officers.
“We cannot go on waiting; this needs to happen urgently,” said White. “This decision by the parole board will do nothing to give confidence to police officers and the public that the most serious and dangerous offenders will remain behind bars.”
A Ministry of Justice (MoJ) spokesman said that neither the Home Secretary nor the Minister of Justice could reverse the board’s decision.
The release of life sentence prisoners is directed by the independent parole board once they were satisfied they can be safely managed in the community, he said.
“Once released [prisoners] are subject to strict controls for as long as their risk requires them. If they fail to comply with these conditions they can be immediately returned to prison,” the MoJ spokesman said.
