Eleventh hour delay in County Durham murderer's Parole hearing
The mother of victim Julie Hogg said the delay in Billy Dunlop's hearing was "disgraceful"
Last updated 25th Jun 2024
The mother of a woman, murdered by a County Durham man in 1989, has said an 11th hour delay to his parole hearing is "disgraceful."
The hearing for William Dunlop, who strangled pizza delivery woman Julie Hogg in Billingham, in 1989, was adjourned after an eleventh hour request by the Ministry of Justice.
Miss Hogg's mother, Ann Ming, complained to Parole Board staff at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London, and could be heard saying: "It's absolutely disgraceful".
Ms Ming campaigned for 15 years to bring Dunlop to justice for her daughter's murder.
Almost two hours after the hearing was supposed to begin, a statement was read out by staff announcing the postponement.
Members of the press and public were set to watch the proceedings - taking place at the prison where Dunlop is being held - on a live stream from a court room where large screens had been set up.
Ms Ming had been due to watch the hearing in a separate room, it is believed.
Dunlop was tried twice for Miss Hogg's murder but both juries failed to reach a verdict.
When later serving time behind bars for another crime, Dunlop confessed and admitted lying in court, boasting there was nothing anyone could do about it because of the double jeopardy rule in place at the time.
Ms Ming campaigned to get the 800-year-old law changed so that he could be charged with the same crime twice.
Dunlop's case made legal history in 2006 when he became the first person to be tried under the new rules. He was convicted of murder and jailed for life with a minimum term of 15 years.
Ms Ming was made an MBE in 2007 in recognition of her services to the criminal justice system.
Parole judges were set to review Dunlop's case on Tuesday to consider whether he is safe to be moved to a lower security jail or be released from prison.
A Parole Board statement said the hearing had been postponed "at the request of the Ministry of Justice" after new information was produced "at the last minute".
"We are very sorry... we know people have travelled to be here," it added.
The hearing will be re-listed, the Parole Board said.
In 2022, then justice secretary Brandon Lewis blocked a bid to move Dunlop, known as Billy, to an open prison in the interests of public protection despite a parole panel recommending the plan.
Parole reviews typically take place behind closed doors but legal reforms which came into force in 2022 now allow some to be heard in public, when requested, in a bid to remove the secrecy around the process.
Last year Caroline Corby, chairwoman of the Parole Board for England and Wales, ruled Dunlop's parole hearing could be held in public partly due to the unique legal background to the case.
She also considered the victims' request for a public hearing, saying: "The victims feel that they have been let down in the past by the criminal justice system and they believe that a public hearing would be beneficial to them.
"The victims wish to attend a public hearing rather than a private hearing."