Dominic Raab promises to review hammer-killer case

• Dominic Raab has pledged to review the case of Robert Brown.
• A British Airlines captain sentenced to 26 years in prison.
• For the manslaughter of Joanna Simpson.

Dominic Raab, the secretary of justice, has pledged to review the case of a man who fatally beat his wife with a claw hammer.

Robert Brown, a British Airlines captain, was sentenced to 26 years in prison in 2010 for the manslaughter of Joanna Simpson.

Although Ms. Simpson’s mother Diana Parkes is advocating for the case to be submitted to the parole board, he is scheduled for automatic release in November.

Mr. Raab claimed to be paying “closest personal attention” to the situation.

In October 2010, Brown killed his 46-year-old wife in their Windsor home as their two young children hid in a playroom.

In May 2011, a jury at Reading Crown Court found him not guilty of murder after he had earlier admitted manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility.

Ms Parkes, who met with Mr. Raab on Thursday, said the justice secretary had been “extremely intent on listening to what we were saying, and I think he’s going to look into it very closely”.

She added: “I think he was really horrified… I do feel like we might be getting somewhere.”

Hetti Barkworth-Nanton, a friend of Ms. Simpson who was also at the meeting, said: “I pushed him very hard in terms of making commitments, and he did explicitly say that he would definitely review this case properly under his new powers.”

The Secretary of State may submit a prisoner serving a normal determinate sentence to the parole board, which can decide whether it is safe to release them, under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Act 2022.

Ms. Barkworth-Nanton, who is also chair of domestic abuse charity Refuge, said: “It is under those new powers that he is going to complete this review, so we will continue to campaign for the public to put the pressure on for that review to be done, and show their disgust at the situation we’re in.”

In a statement, Mr. Raab said: “Joanna Simpson was brutally killed in a heinous and despicable act which has changed the lives of her family and friends forever.

“I was humbled to meet with Joanna’s mother and best friend today to extend my deepest sympathies for what her family has been through and assure her that I am giving this case my closest personal attention and will be reviewing it very carefully.”

In December, the Prison Service prevented Brown from being transferred to a category D open jail.

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