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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Lawrence widow shock at decision | Lawrence widow shock at decision |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The widow of murdered teacher Philip Lawrence has expressed for the first time her anger at the decision not to deport her husband's killer. | The widow of murdered teacher Philip Lawrence has expressed for the first time her anger at the decision not to deport her husband's killer. |
| Frances Lawrence said she had been told Learco Chindamo would be deported to Italy, where his father was from. | Frances Lawrence said she had been told Learco Chindamo would be deported to Italy, where his father was from. |
| The government has said it will challenge "robustly" the decision to allow Chindamo, who stabbed Mr Lawrence in 1995, to stay in the UK. | |
| The 26-year-old is serving a life sentence for the 1995 killing. | The 26-year-old is serving a life sentence for the 1995 killing. |
| His lawyers argued that deporting him to Italy, where he was born, would breach his human rights. | His lawyers argued that deporting him to Italy, where he was born, would breach his human rights. |
| Chindamo, who was jailed for life in 1996 with a minimum 12-year term, could be released early next year if the Parole Board decides it is safe to do so. | Chindamo, who was jailed for life in 1996 with a minimum 12-year term, could be released early next year if the Parole Board decides it is safe to do so. |
| Justice Secretary Jack Straw has confirmed the government would be taking the case to appeal and told the BBC he would be offering to meet Mrs Lawrence on Tuesday afternoon. | |
| 'So depressed' | 'So depressed' |
| Mrs Lawrence told the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme: "I didn't anticipate that I would feel so utterly devastated as I felt. | |
| "I think that within the confines of the law Mr Chindamo has the same rights as, for instance, my son whose father he killed. | "I think that within the confines of the law Mr Chindamo has the same rights as, for instance, my son whose father he killed. |
| "But what I don't understand and what makes me so depressed is how the Human Rights Act, which was set up... in order to be an exemplar to show how human beings should live together fairly and equally and kindly, and now it's allowed someone who destroyed a life to pick and choose how he wants to live his. | "But what I don't understand and what makes me so depressed is how the Human Rights Act, which was set up... in order to be an exemplar to show how human beings should live together fairly and equally and kindly, and now it's allowed someone who destroyed a life to pick and choose how he wants to live his. |
| Learco Chindamo came to the UK when he was six | Learco Chindamo came to the UK when he was six |
| "When we speak of morality, we've only got to utter the word and we're derided. | "When we speak of morality, we've only got to utter the word and we're derided. |
| "And when we speak of the relationship between rights and responsibilities we can be held in contempt. And to me, I see this underlying the growing problem, the plague of knife crime and violent crime." | "And when we speak of the relationship between rights and responsibilities we can be held in contempt. And to me, I see this underlying the growing problem, the plague of knife crime and violent crime." |
| The human rights lawyer David Enright said on Monday that under the current rules, it was impossible for people to be deported from one EU country to another. | The human rights lawyer David Enright said on Monday that under the current rules, it was impossible for people to be deported from one EU country to another. |
| He also dismissed the government's protests as "posturing", saying it had accepted the 2006 European Commission regulation into British law. | He also dismissed the government's protests as "posturing", saying it had accepted the 2006 European Commission regulation into British law. |
| "(This) said that any EU national who had lived in the UK, even in prison, for more than 10 years, could only be removed from Britain on imperative grounds of national security - which clearly would not include Mr Chindamo or anyone like him," he added. | "(This) said that any EU national who had lived in the UK, even in prison, for more than 10 years, could only be removed from Britain on imperative grounds of national security - which clearly would not include Mr Chindamo or anyone like him," he added. |
| 'Ridiculous notion' | 'Ridiculous notion' |
| Chindamo was told the news at the weekend and was said to be "pleased" because his "family and life were in the UK". | Chindamo was told the news at the weekend and was said to be "pleased" because his "family and life were in the UK". |
| Mrs Lawrence said she was upset by comments made by Chindamo's defence. | Mrs Lawrence said she was upset by comments made by Chindamo's defence. |
| "I was incensed by Mr Chindamo's lawyer. I don't want his sympathy, which I find hypocritical, or his condescension. | "I was incensed by Mr Chindamo's lawyer. I don't want his sympathy, which I find hypocritical, or his condescension. |
| "And his ridiculous notion that it's a big world, I'm unlikely to know Chindamo if I bump into him - this misses the point spectacularly. | "And his ridiculous notion that it's a big world, I'm unlikely to know Chindamo if I bump into him - this misses the point spectacularly. |
| "This lawyer doesn't know me and yet he's implying that I'm a small-minded person, that I care only about my own feelings, and not about the wider picture." | "This lawyer doesn't know me and yet he's implying that I'm a small-minded person, that I care only about my own feelings, and not about the wider picture." |