Murder victim's family meets Parole Board head

Julie Hogg's son Kevin Hogg and mother Ann Ming travelled from Teesside to attend the hearing

A mother whose campaign brought her daughter’s killer to justice has met the head of the Parole Board after being outraged by her family’s treatment.

Ann Ming demanded the meeting after a public parole hearing for double jeopardy killer Billy Dunlop was delayed at the last minute on Tuesday.

Speaking outside London's Royal Courts of Justice, Julie Hogg's mother said she had told the Parole Board to "get their act together" and believed the way the adjournment had been dealt with was "shambolic".

Parole Board head Carolyn Corby offered an apology to the family when she met with them at the authority's Canary Wharf headquarters.

William 'Billy' Dunlop killed Julie Hogg in Billingham, County Durham, in 1989, then boasted of getting away with the crime after jurors twice failed to reach a verdict.

A lengthy battle by Miss Hogg's mother, Ann Ming, saw double jeopardy laws eventually overturned and, in 2006, the murderer was jailed for life.

He has now served a minimum life sentence of 17 years and is subject to parole hearings, the latest of which was due to be heard publicly at the Royal Courts of Justice on Tuesday.

Dunlop's future was to be considered by a panel who would have heard evidence from the family and the authorities involved with Dunlop before considering whether he still presented a risk to the public and should stay behind bars, be transferred to an open prison or be released.

Julie Hogg was murdered in 1989, with her killer finally convicted in 2006

Miss Hogg's family, press and members of the public had been at the Royal Courts for hours before a statement was read out, saying new information had come to light and had to be considered before the hearing could go ahead.

Those gathered had initially been told technical problems were contributing to the lengthy wait, before the court heard the hearing was being delayed at the request of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

The MoJ later said it had not requested the adjournment.

'Transparency'

Mrs Ming said Ms Corby agreed with her that the situation was "shambolic".

"There wasn't a lot she could actually say, although Ms Corby is wanting build transparency for victims' families, and that's what we wanted to do," Mrs Ming said.

"I felt a bit more reassured but I said to her that they had a long way to go before their transparency is up to spec."

Miss Hogg's son, Kevin Hogg, said the meeting with the Parole Board was "productive" and said its apology was "welcomed" by the family.

The public parole hearing was adjourned at the last minute on Tuesday

As detailed in the BBC's In Court podcast, Dunlop strangled 22-year-old mother Julie Hogg at a house in Billingham, County Durham in 1989.

He hid her mutilated body behind a bath panel where it lay undiscovered for months.

Dunlop was tried twice for her murder but on both occasions jurors failed to arrive at a verdict.

While in jail for another offence, he confessed to killing Miss Hogg and bragged about getting away with murder because of the double jeopardy laws in place at the time, which meant people could not be charged with the same crime twice.

Miss Hogg’s mother campaigned tirelessly for more than 15 years to have the 800-year-old legislation overturned.

When he was jailed, Mrs Ming said: "We just hope after 17 years, when he's eligible for parole, if I'm dead, someone carries on the good work and keeps him behind bars so he can never kill anyone else again."