Mairead Philpott is released from prison after serving less than half her 17-year sentence for killing her six children in a fire
- Mairead Philpott killed her six children after burning down family home in Derby
- The 38-year-old is ‘delighted’ at being given her earliest possible release date
- She left HMP Send in Surrey yesterday after serving eight-and-a-half years
- But the move has been slammed by the Centre For Crime Prevention think-tank
Mairead Philpott (pictured with husband Mick) is set to be released next month after serving just half of her 17-year jail term
Mairead Philpott has been released from prison after serving less than half her 17-year sentence for killing her six children in a fire.
The 38-year-old, who killed her six children after burning down the family home in Derby in 2012, was ‘delighted’ at being given her earliest possible release date.
She was released from HMP Send in Surrey yesterday, after just eight-and-a-half years behind bars.
The move was slammed by the Centre For Crime Prevention think-tank, which said: ‘This is not justice.’
Philpott, along with husband Mick and friend Paul Mosley, burnt down the family’s three-bedroom council house in 2012 in a bid to get a bigger home.
But the couple’s six children – Duwayne, 13, Jade, 10, John, nine, Jack, seven, Jesse, six, and Jayden, five – died from smoke inhalation as a result of the blaze.
The taxpayer will cover thousands of pounds worth of costs for Philpott to stay in a hostel with a new identity.
The couple’s six children – Duwayne, 13, Jade, 10, John, nine, Jack, seven, Jesse, six, and Jayden, five – died from smoke inhalation as a result of the blaze
Philpott, along with husband Mick and friend Paul Mosley, burnt down the family’s three-bedroom council house in 2012 in a bid to get a bigger home
David Spencer at the Centre for Crime Prevention told The Sun: ‘It makes an absolute mockery of the UK’s criminal justice system.
”She has served barely more than a year for each of the six innocent lives she callously took away.’
A source also told the publication: ‘Her convoy was like one given to a celebrity rather than a mum who killed her six children.’
She will be living in a 20-bed half-way house and carried a bag filled with her belongings as she walked inside.
She will leave after three months with a new name and a 7pm to 7am curfew.
Last night, Philpott’s mother Vera, 62, said she was angry her daughter had been released so early.
The Philpott’s devious plan to frame an ex for killing their kids
The Philpotts married in 2003 and shared a cramped three-bedroom council house in Derby with his lover Lisa Willis and their children.
Philpott led his wife and accomplice Mosley into a scheme to get a bigger council house by burning down his home and framing Ms Willis for the crime after she walked out on him.
He also hoped to win back custody of his five children who had recently moved out of the home.
His intention was to rescue the sleeping children through an upstairs window but the plan went disastrously wrong after too much petrol was used and the fire burned out of control.
The blaze claimed the lives of Duwayne, 13, Jade, 10, John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six and Jayden, five.
Philpott, who had previously been jailed for stabbing his schoolgirl lover 27 times, wove a web of lies trying to get away with the crime and even plotted to ‘get rich quick’ off generous donations from the local community meant to pay for the funerals of his children.
Callous: The couple wept at a press conference as they appealed for help to find the killer or killers. Pictured: The coffins bearing the bodies of six children who died in the fire they started
In the days that followed the fire, Philpott began his elaborate ruse to appear blameless and even appeared at a press conference appealing for information.
During a fortnight of surveillance at the hotel where they were put up by police in May after the fire, the couple were heard whispering about the case, with Philpott recorded telling his wife to ‘stick to your story’.
They were charged by police on May 30 in connection with the deaths and Mosley was arrested in the months afterwards, having told a friend the plan had been for him to rescue the children.
Police initially charged the trio with murder but downgraded this to manslaughter because while their actions were sickeningly reckless, the defendants had not intended to kill the six.
However, he was found guilty of the horrific crime at a trial in April and sentenced to life behind bars.
The judge described the plot as ‘a wicked and dangerous plan’ that was ‘outside the comprehension of any right-thinking person’.