Robert Brown: Dominic Raab to review hammer-killer case

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab has promised to review the case of a man who bludgeoned his wife to death with a claw hammer.

British Airways captain Robert Brown was jailed for 26 years for the manslaughter of Joanna Simpson in 2010.

He is due for automatic release in November, but Ms Simpson's mother Diana Parkes is campaigning for the case to be referred to the parole board.

Mr Raab said he was giving the matter his "closest personal attention".

Brown killed his 46-year-old wife in their family home in Windsor in October 2010 as their two young children cowered in a playroom.

He was acquitted of murder by a jury at Reading Crown Court in May 2011 after previously admitting manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Ms Parkes, who met with Mr Raab on Thursday, said the justice secretary had been "extremely intent on listening to what we were saying, and I think he's going to look into it very closely".

She added: "I think he was really horrified... I do feel like we might be getting somewhere."

Hetti Barkworth-Nanton, a friend of Ms Simpson who was also at the meeting, said: "I pushed him very hard in terms of making commitments, and he did explicitly say that he would definitely review this case properly under his new powers."

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Act 2022 permits the Secretary of State to refer a prisoner serving a standard determinate sentence to the parole board, which can determine whether it is safe to release them.

Ms Barkworth-Nanton, who is also chair of domestic abuse charity Refuge, said: "It is under those new powers that he is going to complete this review, so we will continue to campaign for the public to put the pressure on for that review to be done, and show their disgust at the situation we're in."

In a statement, Mr Raab said: "Joanna Simpson was brutally killed in a heinous and despicable act which has changed the lives of her family and friends forever.

"I was humbled to meet with Joanna's mother and best friend today to extend my deepest sympathies for what her family has been through and assure her that I am giving this case my closest personal attention and will be reviewing it very carefully."

The Prison Service blocked Brown from moving to a category D open prison in December.

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