British Airways killer Robert Brown could be freed with date set for next parole hearing

BRITISH Airways killer Robert Brown could be freed with a date set for his next parole hearing.

Pilot Brown, now 60, bludgeoned his estranged wife Joanna Simpson to death with a claw hammer before burying her in a pre-dug grave in Windsor Great Park.

The couple’s two young children were within earshot when he attacked her in the family home on Halloween 2010.

Brown was handed a 26-year term for manslaughter, after arguing that he was suffering from adjustment disorder at the time of the attack, and was due to be released in November 2023 after serving just half of his sentence.

Joanna’s mother Diana Parkes launched an appeal in The Sun to block Robert’s release, saying that she was convinced he would find a way to hurt her and her grandchildren if he was set free.

The then Justice Secretary Alex Chalk stepped in and used his Powers To Detain to stop him from getting out of prison, which was challenged in the High Court but upheld.

During the Judicial Review held last year into the case, the court heard that Brown could be at risk of killing again if he was released early from prison and has “no remorse”.

The Ministry of Justice has argued that Brown is a “significant risk of serious harm” due to his “non-engagement” with probation officers which would allow officials to properly assess the danger.

Brown “has been described by various professionals as hostile, superior, defensive, dismissive and grandiose” according to the ruling and “He continues to lack motivation to engage” with rehabilitation.

He has also “refused to undertake any offender behaviour programmes” including courses on healthy relationships and risk of intimate partner violence.

His case will now be heard by the Parole Board before a decision is made on his release.

The choice to hold the hearing behind closed doors was revealed by The Sun in September.

Representations made on behalf of the new Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood asked for a public hearing because “increased transparency is vital to building public confidence in the parole system”.

Brown argued that his right to privacy would be affected under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights if there was a public hearing.

Sir John Saunders on behalf of the Chair of the Parole Board said that the hearing must be held in private because of issues around privacy and because a “considerable amount” of the hearing will concern the killer’s mental health.

The Sun on Sunday can reveal Brown’s hearing will now be heard “early in 2025”.

The high profile case is yet to be listed.

A spokesperson for the Parole Board said: “We can confirm the parole review of Robert Brown has been referred to the Parole Board by the Secretary of State for Justice and is following standard processes.

“Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.”

Joanna’s mother Diana Parkes said: “With Brown’s Parole Board hearing on the horizon, it is an incredibly anxious time for Jo’s family and friends.

“We implore the Parole Board must not let this man out of prison into the community.

“He has shown no remorse for the horrific and brutal killing that he committed against my daughter.

“The Parole Board must see that Brown cannot be trusted to follow licence conditions, including not entering exclusion zones.

“These rules will not stop him from doing anything dangerous, as rules have never stopped him in the past.

“The safest way for him to be monitored is to keep him in a restricted area.

“In Court, Brown, who was a British Airways Captain, said he would rather down the plane full of passengers than go to prison.

“We hope that the Parole Board can see Brown is a dangerous man to the community.”

Joanna’s best friend Hetti Barkworth-Nanton said: “We are powerless in this process and all we can do for our sake and that of the public is pray that the parole board does a thorough job in looking at Brown’s index crime, the history of abuse behind it and his conduct in prison in making their assessment of risk and ability to manage it in the community.”