Shabana Mahmood has intervened in a bid to stop the release of a convicted triple killer. The Parole Board announced in February that Michael Steele, 82, could be released from prison after almost 29 years for the murder of three men in Essex.
Steele and Jack Whomes, 63, were convicted in 1998 of shooting dead drug dealers Pat Tate, 37, Tony Tucker, 38, and Craig Rolfe, 26, in a row over a drugs deal in December 1995. But Steele’s release has been put on hold after the Justice Secretary, Ms Mahmood, submitted an application calling on the Parole Board to reconsider.
A Parole Board spokesman said: “There has been a reconsideration application made and the prisoner has to stay in prison until it’s been decided.
“If the reconsideration application is granted there will need to be a fresh (parole) hearing.”
Ms Mahmood’s application has reportedly been made on the grounds that the Parole Board’s decision was “legally irrational”, according to MailOnline.
If the bid succeeds, then Steele’s application for parole would need to be heard again. If it fails, then he would be released on licence.
Steele and Whomes, who was released in 2021, have always maintained their innocence, but were given life sentences, with a minimum terms of 23 years after an Old Bailey trial.
The three victims were shot dead in a Range Rover on an isolated track in Rettendon, near Basildon, less than three weeks after the death of Leah Betts, 18, who took an ecstasy pill from a bad batch believed to have been supplied by the three victims, sparking a national outcry.
The notorious gangland killings spawned a series of gangster films, including the 2000 film Essex Boys, starring Sean Bean.
Whomes and Steele previously failed to overturn their convictions at the Court of Appeal. In 2023, the Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC) rejected an application from their lawyers to have their convictions sent back to the Court of Appeal.
A fresh application to the CCRC is under review after former detectives submitted evidence which they claim casts doubt on the pair’s prosecutions.
The CCRC has accepted submissions from a third party other than the defence, before agreeing to carry out the new review of the convictions, MailOnline reports.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Our thoughts remain with the families of Tony Tucker, Pat Tate and Craig Rolfe.
“Public protection is our first priority. After careful consideration, the Lord Chancellor (Ms Mahmood) has asked the Parole Board to reconsider its decision to release Michael Steele from prison.”
