Mairead Philpott court bid to have 17 year prison sentence reduced rejected

 
Jailed: Mick Philpott and wife Mairead
Staff|Agency29 November 2013
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Mairead Philpott, who was convicted with her husband Mick of killing her six children in a house fire, has lost a court bid to have her 17 year prison sentence slashed.

The decision - reached by Court of Appeal judges sitting at Nottingham Crown Court - was met with applause from the public gallery as the disgraced mother's family looked on.

Philpott, 32, was jailed in April alongside her husband Mick for the manslaughter of Jade Philpott and her brothers John, Jack, Jesse, Jayden and Duwayne. They were aged between five and 13.

She conspired in a plan to set fire to the couple's home in Derbyshire in an effort to frame her husband's former mistress.

Mick Philpott, who was branded "disturbingly dangerous", received a life sentence with a minimum 15 year term.

Setting out Mairead's grounds of appeal, her barrister Shaun Smith QC said: "The essence is the utter dependence of Mairead Philpott on Mick Philpott, whilst not excusing culpability, legally or morally, was not given sufficient weight in assessing the length of her sentence."

He said Mairead was "particularly vulnerable" to a man like Philpott who specialised in taking advantage of young girls with no family support or self esteem.

Jailed: Mick Philpott and wife Mairead

Mr Smith said Mairead, who had been a loving mother, would forever be known as a child killer and that her sentence would be "a lifetime reminder of her inability to stand up to a disturbingly dangerous man".

The court heard co-accused Paul Mosley had abandoned an appeal of the length of his sentence.

Dismissing the appeal today, The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, sitting with His Justice Flaux and Justice MacDuff said there was "no doubt" Mairead Philpott - who was not in court - had loved her children but that as their mother she had a responsibility to them.

Lord Thomas dismissed Mr Smith's claims that she could not stand up for herself against her husband.

"This was not a spur of the moment plan.

"The risks of pouring petrol inside a building must have been obvious.

"She participated in the setting of the fire as petrol was found on her clothes.

"Her conduct after arrest was one where she continued to maintain the lie that others were responsible.

"It may be that she was under the continuing domination of Michael Philpott."

He continued: "It is extremely difficult to understand that during that custody time and the lengthy trial she did not admit the truth, expose the lie and own up to abusing her responsibilities.

"She was capable of standing up. She could make a choice. She had a responsibility that was not overborne by the will of Michael Philpott."

The decision comes after she lost the first round of a bid to challenge the length of her sentence in July.

The hearing was the first to be held outside London since legislation was passed to allow Court of Appeal hearings to be broadcast.

Philpott's father Jimmy Duffy said outside court that he believed his daughter should have been given a life sentence.

He also told reporters his daughter had ignored his last letter and "has nothing to do with us".

Mr Duffy said: "There is love there because she is my flesh and blood, but I'll never forgive her for what she's done."

He added: "At the beginning I said that the whole trio should've got a life sentence."

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