Colin Pitchfork: Justice Secretary Dominic Raab pledges parole review

Colin Pitchfork, now aged 61, spent 33 years in prison for the murders

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab has suggested he would like to see a more cautious approach to future parole decisions following the arrest of double child killer Colin Pitchfork.

Pitchfork, who raped and murdered two teenage girls in the 1980s, was recalled to prison last week, two months after being released.

It followed concerns by probation staff about his behaviour.

Mr Raab said a "root-and-branch" review of the parole system was under way.

'Precautionary principle'

Speaking to BBC Breakfast earlier, he said: "One of the problems in cases like this is there is, if you like, a presumption that unless it can be determined that the individual presents a risk, that they will be released.

"I want to look at that again because actually I think that presumption is the wrong way.

"If you take, for example, climate change and environmental law, we have what is called a precautionary principle because of the risk involved.

"I think in cases like this, where there is a serious question about risk to the public, and public protection, I think we should have a more precautionary approach."

The Parole Board told the BBC its reviews were done with "extreme care".

Mr Raab said he understood the public's frustration at the Pitchfork case

Meanwhile, Pitchfork has been branded a remorseless psychopath who should never have been released from prison, by the detective who originally caught him.

David Baker, formerly a detective chief superintendent for Leicestershire Police, believes Pitchfork was able to deceive the Parole Board into thinking it was safe to free him.

He said he was not at all surprised when Pitchfork then broke his licence conditions by approaching young women.

"I don't think he should ever be released," Mr Baker, speaking after Pitchfork was recalled to prison, said.

"I expected he would breach his parole once they let him out, because he is in the environment again where he's meeting people.

"Of course young girls and young women are available to him, and that's exactly what's happened."

David Baker was formerly a detective chief superintendent for Leicestershire Police

Pitchfork raped and strangled 15-year-old Lynda Mann in 1983 and did the same to 15-year-old Dawn Ashworth in 1986.

He was the first murderer to be caught and convicted as a result of DNA profiling, a forensic technique that has now been used in countless murder investigations around the world.

"He admitted the offences straight away but he didn't show any remorse whatsoever," Mr Baker said.

"The majority of people are remorseful when they are caught.

"He's got to be a psychopath."

'Calculating individual'

Pitchfork breached his licence conditions just two months after being released from prison, where he had been for 33 years.

He is understood to have approached young women on multiple occasions while out on walks from the bail hostel where he was living.

Mr Baker believes Pitchfork is capable of fooling the authorities, in the same way he fooled his wife and family in between the two murders.

"Pitchfork was able to switch off from being a murderer to an ordinary individual, he was quite a calculating individual," he said.

"He could switch off and suddenly the spark would ignite and he would be off on his murderous scheme again."

Dawn Ashworth and Lynda Mann were raped and murdered by Pitchfork three years apart in the 1980s

Mr Baker said police used DNA profiling to catch Pitchfork after he fortuitously read about it in a local newspaper. The article featured Alec Jeffreys, the genetics researcher at the University of Leicester who developed the technique.

However, Pitchfork almost evaded capture by persuading a colleague to give a blood test in his place.

"He tried to deceive us in the first instance by getting somebody else to take his blood," said Mr Baker.

"He's a schemer and there's no doubt he was scheming his way through his prison sentence."

'Didn't see through him'

There have been concerns Pitchfork has been trying to cheat lie detector tests, and the BBC has been told he was doing this by using breathing techniques.

"I don't know anything about lie detectors but it's typical of Pitchfork to try that," Mr Baker said.

"I think he showed a persona in prison which was acceptable to the prison authorities and Parole Board and they accepted it and didn't see through him."

A Parole Board spokesperson said: "Parole Board panels rely heavily on the evidence of professional witnesses who have the benefit of monitoring and working closely with an offender throughout their sentence.

"The Parole Board's judicial decision to release Mr Pitchfork was made in May and followed consideration of extensive evidence from his community probation officer, prison probation officer and prison psychologist, who all supported his release.

"Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority."