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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| 'Poor judgement' left killer free | 'Poor judgement' left killer free |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The justice secretary has said that a lack of resources was not to blame for the failure to detain a man who went on to murder two French students. | The justice secretary has said that a lack of resources was not to blame for the failure to detain a man who went on to murder two French students. |
| Jack Straw told MPs "poor judgement and poor management" by probation workers, and police and prison staff errors, led to Dano Sonnex being wrongly bailed. | Jack Straw told MPs "poor judgement and poor management" by probation workers, and police and prison staff errors, led to Dano Sonnex being wrongly bailed. |
| Sonnex, 23, and Nigel Farmer, 34, killed Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez in south-east London in June 2008. | Sonnex, 23, and Nigel Farmer, 34, killed Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez in south-east London in June 2008. |
| Mr Straw apologised for the "very serious failures" that had occurred. | Mr Straw apologised for the "very serious failures" that had occurred. |
| Mr Bonomo and Mr Ferez were tortured and stabbed 244 times by Sonnex and Farmer, who broke into their flat in New Cross. | Mr Bonomo and Mr Ferez were tortured and stabbed 244 times by Sonnex and Farmer, who broke into their flat in New Cross. |
| At the time, Sonnex should have been behind bars, but he had been wrongly bailed by magistrates on a charge of handling stolen goods instead of being remanded in custody. | At the time, Sonnex should have been behind bars, but he had been wrongly bailed by magistrates on a charge of handling stolen goods instead of being remanded in custody. |
| Further blunders delayed his recall to prison. It took 33 days for the administrative process to be completed and a further 16 days for Metropolitan Police officers to go to Sonnex's house to arrest him. | Further blunders delayed his recall to prison. It took 33 days for the administrative process to be completed and a further 16 days for Metropolitan Police officers to go to Sonnex's house to arrest him. |
| By that time the two students were already dead. | By that time the two students were already dead. |
| It is important that we do not unduly tarnish the work of dedicated professionals who deal with some of the most dangerous and unpredictable individuals in our society Justice Secretary Jack Straw 'Serious failures' led to murder | |
| Mr Straw said: "Whilst responsibility for the murders lies with the perpetrators alone, the successive failings which I've outlined meant that Sonnex was free to kill these young men when he could and should have been locked up." | Mr Straw said: "Whilst responsibility for the murders lies with the perpetrators alone, the successive failings which I've outlined meant that Sonnex was free to kill these young men when he could and should have been locked up." |
| Probation funding had gone up by 70% in real terms since 1997, with London Probation underspending on its £154m budget by £3.5m last year, he said. | Probation funding had gone up by 70% in real terms since 1997, with London Probation underspending on its £154m budget by £3.5m last year, he said. |
| "This was a failure to use the resources available to London Probation effectively," he said. | "This was a failure to use the resources available to London Probation effectively," he said. |
| Mr Straw also said: "It is, however, important in considering this case that we do not unduly tarnish the work of all those dedicated professionals who have to deal every day with some of the most dangerous and unpredictable individuals in our society." | Mr Straw also said: "It is, however, important in considering this case that we do not unduly tarnish the work of all those dedicated professionals who have to deal every day with some of the most dangerous and unpredictable individuals in our society." |
| He was speaking to the Commons after shadow justice secretary Dominic Grieve tabled an urgent question calling on Mr Straw to come before MPs. | He was speaking to the Commons after shadow justice secretary Dominic Grieve tabled an urgent question calling on Mr Straw to come before MPs. |
| 'Cracks in the system' | |
| "These tragic deaths are the consequence of serious and systemic failures across the criminal justice system," Mr Grieve said. | |
| He said Sonnex had "slipped through every crack in the system". | |
| For the Liberal Democrats, David Howarth said he had to question Mr Straw's position "that all the failures were failures of individuals or of management - and not failures of policy". | |
| He highlighted the 16-day delay between Sonnex's recall to prison and his arrest, during which time the murders were committed. | |
| "Could that failure have anything to do with the fact that at the time, national police targets were all about sanction detections, so the kind of work involved in taking Sonnex back into prison would have been a low priority?," he asked. | |
| Mr Straw said police had faced a four-day target to carry out the arrest. | |
| "They palpably failed to meet that target when they should have done, along with the other failures elsewhere in the system," Mr Straw said. | |
| Sonnex was found guilty at the Old Bailey last week and was sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in prison. | Sonnex was found guilty at the Old Bailey last week and was sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in prison. |
| Co-defendant Farmer was also convicted of double murder and ordered to serve at least 35 years in jail. | Co-defendant Farmer was also convicted of double murder and ordered to serve at least 35 years in jail. |
| London's chief probation officer David Scott resigned over the case and warned probation staff were facing unmanageable workloads. |