South Leicestershire MP, Alberto Costa, has said that he is ‘deeply disappointed’ by the decision of the Parole Board for England & Wales to refuse his application for a public hearing in the forthcoming parole case of the convicted child-rapist and killer Colin Pitchfork.
Last week, the MP raised Pitchfork’s case with the Prime Minister in the House of Commons and asked for a meeting with the Justice Secretary to discuss the case in further detail.
Pitchfork, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1988, was previously released by the Parole Board in September 2021 before being recalled to prison two months later for breaching his licence conditions.
He was due to have his next hearing in front of the Parole Board in September last year, however this was then delayed and scheduled to take place in December, before again being moved to April 2023.
Alberto has long campaigned against the release of Colin Pitchfork, who raped and murdered two teenage girls, Lynda Mann, and Dawn Ashworth, in his constituency in 1983 and 1986, respectively. The MP has been highly critical of the Parole Board’s actions in directing Pitchfork for release, especially after he was recalled to prison after only a matter of weeks due to serious concerns over his behaviour.
Alberto said, “I am profoundly disappointed by the Parole Board’s decision to refuse my request for Colin Pitchfork’s next parole hearing to be heard in public. Pitchfork is a convicted child-rapist and killer and was the first offender to be convicted using DNA fingerprinting evidence; therefore I maintain that his case is very much in the public interest, and that having his case heard in public would greatly contribute to the wider understanding of the parole system which is often an unclear and obfuscated process.”
Alberto added, “Following my question on Pitchfork’s case to the Prime Minister last week, I look forward to meeting with the Justice Secretary next week in order to continue to highlight the serious concerns of my constituents, and countless others, who are deeply alarmed at the prospect of Pitchfork’s release. On behalf of my constituents and the families of Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth, I will continue doing all I can to see that Colin Pitchfork remains in prison.”
