Cabbie's widow attacks 'mistakes'

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BBC Panorama has secretly filmed staff at a Bristol bail hostel saying they warned the probation service about a man who later murdered a taxi driver.

The widow of Colin Winstone, murdered in Bristol by Davidson Charles, claimed the probation service had "failed" her.

Kelly Winstone, 28, a mother-of-two from Longwell Green, said that mistakes had cost her husband his life in 2005.

The probation service says it could not have predicted that Charles would go on to commit murder.

Jeanette Whitford, from the Avon and Somerset probation service, said: "With hindsight the robustness of the excuses being given was not challenged strongly enough.

He was free to kill my husband. Their mistakes cost him his life Kelly Winstone

"The timescale was very short. I don't think anyone could have predicted that his level of offending could have escalated into that terrible offence."

After his conviction, the probation service said it was to review the case and would carry out an investigation.

That report is now before the Home Office.

Charles, 41, had been staying at a bail hostel in Brigstocke Road, Bristol, when he stabbed the cab driver in January 2005.

Undercover Panorama reporters recorded staff at the hostel claiming that they had warned the probation service about him re-offending, but nothing was done.

One staff member was recorded saying: "That taxi driver should never have been killed... We provided his probation officer with enough evidence to recall him."

Lack of supervision

Mrs Winstone said: "He [Charles] was clearly dangerous, but he was allowed to roam the streets.

"He was free to kill my husband. Their mistakes cost him his life. There were warnings about his behaviour but no-one did anything about it."

Charles had served just half of a four year sentence for robbery when he murdered the cabbie in the Easton area of the city.

He had been released on licence in November 2004, just seven weeks before he attacked his 44-year-old victim.

Panorama claims Charles was supposed to be under monitoring and supervision at the hostel when he murdered Mr Winstone. He was later jailed for life.

The Home Secretary John Reid said he had ordered an investigation into the apparent lack of supervision at the hostel.

Hostels are not, and cannot legally be, prisons. The majority of residents are ex-prisoners, and nearly half are convicted sex offenders Harry FletcherNational Association of Probation Officers

Mr Reid said: "I have asked Andrew Bridges, the Chief Inspector of Probation, to urgently review whether there is a case for an investigation of the management and operation of the approved premises mentioned by the programme."

The National Association of Probation Officers (Napo) has claimed that the service is "working better than ever at all levels".

Harry Fletcher, the organisation's general secretary, admitted they could not offer 24-hour surveillance of those offenders considered to be dangerous.

"The Home Secretary needs to look at why, if prisoners are deemed dangerous or are a risk to the public, they are being released in the first place.

"Hostels are not, and cannot legally be, prisons. The majority of residents are ex-prisoners, and nearly half are convicted sex offenders.

"All residents must observe hostel rules, such as a night-time curfew and a ban on drugs and alcohol. Any individual who breaches these rules risks being returned to custody.

"If the Home Secretary wants more intensive supervision then he must supply considerable numbers of additional trained and experienced staff."