The man who murdered a Brighton barman should not have been allowed out of prison to kill again.
An official report said that the release of Ian McLoughlin, 56, also known as Ian Baker, on a temporary licence was inappropriate and had catastrophic consequences.
The report’s author, chief inspector of prisons Nick Hardwick, said that the decision to grant McLoughlin temporary release – and the way that his release had been managed – “represented a fundamental failure of the system”.
McLoughlin was serving a life sentence for the murder of Brighton barman Peter Halls in September 1990 and is now serving life for the murder of good samaritan Graham Buck.
Mr Halls ran the Volks Tavern, in Madeira Drive, Kemp Town, the defunct Eastern pub, near by in Eastern Road, and the American Bar at the Norfolk Resort Hotel in King’s Road, on Brighton seafront.
The body of the 56-year-old was found in his flat in Sillwood Road, Brighton. He had been stabbed in the neck.
The report, to Justice Secretary Chris Grayling, said: “Ian McLoughlin was convicted of manslaughter in 1984 and sentenced to eight years imprisonment. He knew his victim and believed him to be a paedophile.
“In 1991 Mr McLoughlin claimed to police that he had killed another man in 1990. He believed this man was a paedophile too, but no body was ever found and no police action was taken.
“In 1992 Mr McLoughlin was convicted of murdering another man believed to be a paedophile – Peter Halls. Mr McLoughlin went to Peter Halls’s flat with him, where there was evidence of sexual activity having taken place, and Mr Halls was stabbed to death.
“Mr McLoughlin has spent over 21 years in prison during which time he has undertaken a significant amount of offending behaviour work, including alcohol programmes and three years in the therapeutic community at HMP Grendon.
“His behaviour was reported to have been generally good and he has shown a particularly good work ethic.
“During his time in prison, Mr McLoughlin has failed open conditions on two occasions prior to his transfer to HMP Springhill in 2013.
“In 2004 he absconded from HMP Kirkham following allegations of a sexual assault on another prisoner.
“In 2011 he failed to return to HMP Springhill from a release on temporary licence (ROTL), having become involved in a drunken altercation with an adult male previously unknown to him.
“On 13 July 2013 Mr McLoughlin was released on temporary licence from HMP Springhill and went to the home of a former prisoner and convicted sex offender, (Francis) Cory-Wright.
“An altercation between Mr McLoughlin and Mr Cory-Wright ensued and a neighbour, Mr Buck, who had come to the assistance of Mr Cory-Wright, was fatally stabbed by Mr McLoughlin.
“On 21 October 2013 Mr McLoughlin was found guilty of the murder of Mr Buck.
“It was not appropriate to release Mr McLoughlin for the first time since his previous failure in 2011 for such a lengthy, unaccompanied, unstructured and unmonitored ROTL.
“Mr McLoughlin’s custodial behaviour was good and the prison had no security intelligence or concerns about his conduct.
“However, he presented a concerning risk profile. He had previously been convicted of manslaughter and had committed at least one murder. He had failed open conditions twice before.
“This was his first opportunity to be released on temporary licence since his ROTL failure in 2011.
“The risks he presented on ROTL were not sufficiently assessed or managed.”
The report also noted that Springhill Open Prison housed 335 adult male prisoners and that the number serving indeterminate sentences had steadily increased since 2011.
In April 2011 Springhill held 20 prisoners serving indeterminate sentences but by August 2012 the number had risen to 111.
Boards were held each week to decide whether prisoners could be released on a temporary licence.
The report said that the weekly board meetings lasted three to four hours and routinely considered between 45 and 70 cases a week.
