Early release scheme 'a kick in teeth' says shooting victim's dad

The father of a woman who was shot outside a pub has said it is a "massive kick in the teeth" that a man who assisted her murderer will be eligible for early release.

Elle Edwards, 26, was killed by gunman Connor Chapman after he fired a sub-machine gun into a group of people outside the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village in Wirral on Christmas Eve 2022.

Thomas Waring was jailed for nine years in July 2023 after he was found guilty of possessing a prohibited weapon and assisting an offender by helping Chapman burn out the stolen Mercedes used in the shooting.

Elle's father Tim Edwards said he had been told Waring would be released in October this year.

He said: "It's a massive kick in the teeth.

"I did write to Andy Burnham last week and I asked him to just look at the criteria that people are going to be under or fit to get the early release and there was no response.

"Obviously the reason why was because they were never going to change it.

"I put that more on the Ministry of Justice because they just won't change, they don't want to change, they're all about number crunching."

The government introduced the early release scheme to tackle severe prison overcrowding and prevent jails in England and Wales from running out of space.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham later changed the scheme so that prisoners convicted of rape, grooming, and serious child sex offences will be excluded in England and Wales.

He said he wanted to exclude more, but prison overcrowding prevented this.

Justice Secretary Alex Norris also warned a prison capacity crisis would be likely if fewer prisoners were allowed early release.

Edwards said he spoke to a victim liaison officer from the Probation Service on Monday who told him there would be no change with the early release in Waring's case, although rapists and child sex offenders have been made exempt from the scheme.

Edwards added: "It just shows that the families, the victims, don't get a say in any of this. It just shows they don't care. It's devastating to take."

Liverpool Crown Court heard Chapman, who was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 48 years, went to Waring's house following the shooting and asked him to look after the weapon used in the killing.

Edwards said: "The gun has never been found. That gun is still out there. So what's to stop him coming out and picking that gun up again, there's nothing to stop him doing that, is there?"

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