• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
  • Contact us
  • Guest Content
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Elevenses
  • Business
  • Food
  • Travel
  • Property
  • JOBS
  • All
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Sport
    • Tech/Auto
    • Lifestyle
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Set For Life
      • Thunderball
      • EuroMillions
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Pensioner fails in bid to win review of decision to release daughter’s killer

Marie McCourt argued that former pub landlord Ian Simms should not be freed from jail on licence until he revealed where Helen McCourt’s body is.

Joe Mellor by Joe Mellor
2020-09-01 14:17
in News
Credit;PA

Credit;PA

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

A pensioner has failed in a bid to persuade judges to order a review of a Parole Board decision to release a man convicted of murdering her 22-year-old daughter more than 30 years ago.

Marie McCourt, of Billinge, Merseyside, said former pub landlord Ian Simms should not be released from jail until he reveals where Helen McCourt’s body is hidden.

She said a November 2019 Parole Board decision to release Simms, now 64, on licence was wrong and should be reviewed.

Two judges ruled against her on Tuesday.

Virtual High Court

Lady Justice Macur and Mr Justice Chamberlain, who had considered Mrs McCourt’s judicial review application at a virtual High Court in July, decided that a Parole Board panel decision “involved no arguable public law error”.

Helen McCourt
Helen McCourt (Family/PA)

They added, in a written ruling: “The panel were acutely aware of the sensitivities in this case and adopted a careful and balanced approach both to the procedure to be adopted and to the assessment of Simms’ current risk.”

The judges said they had decided to refuse to give Mrs McCourt, who is in her 70s, permission to apply for a judicial review.

They heard that Ms McCourt was murdered in Billinge in February 1988, while on her way home.

Helen McCourt
Ian Simms (PA)

Simms was found guilty of her abduction and murder after a trial at Liverpool Crown Court in March 1989 and given a life sentence, with a minimum term of 16 years.

RelatedPosts

BBC to stop showing ‘high risk’ performances after Bob Vylan Glastonbury controversy

Keir Starmer confirms Rachel Reeves will be Chancellor ‘for a very long time to come’

Trump complains about lack of porn access in White House, says former aide

Bob Vylan get another gig cancelled after Glastonbury set

A Parole Board spokesman said, in a statement, after the ruling: “The Parole Board notes the decision of the court in the judicial review proceedings brought by Marie McCourt.

Parole Board

“The Parole Board has immense sympathy for families of victims who have never been found and recognises the pain and anguish they have endured.

“The Board remains absolutely committed to ensuring that victims and their families are treated with the utmost respect and dignity during the parole process and appreciates the distress that a parole review of the offender is likely to cause. 

“The Parole Board is however required, by law to focus on whether a prisoner’s continued detention remains necessary for the protection of the public.”

Simms was released on licence early this year.

Related – Stephen Lawrence murder investigation shelved

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Commercial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

© The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE thelondoneconomic.com - All Rights Reserved. Privacy

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Lottery Results
    • Lotto
    • Set For Life
    • Thunderball
    • EuroMillions
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE thelondoneconomic.com - All Rights Reserved. Privacy

← Tory MP becomes victim of policing cuts & moans on Facebook about wait after bike stolen ← Switch to a four-day week could create 500,000 new jobs, report finds
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Lottery Results
    • Lotto
    • Set For Life
    • Thunderball
    • EuroMillions
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE thelondoneconomic.com - All Rights Reserved. Privacy

-->