(MENAFN- Gulf Times) The Parole Board's chief yesterday apologised 'unreservedly for the failure to inform victims of black cab rapist John Worboys that he will be released within days — as it emerged he could face new charges.
Professor Nick Hardwick, the board's chairman, defended freeing Worboys, 60, but mayor Sadiq Khan called for the decision to be reconsidered.
Senior Labour MP Sir Keir Starmer, who was the director of public prosecutions at the time of Worboys's conviction in 2009, also faced questions over why more charges were not brought against him.
Professor Hardwick said he was 'very surprised and 'shocked to hear that not all victims had been informed and added that the responsibility for doing this lay with the Victim Contact Service, run by the Probation Service.
'Whoever's fault it was, I fully accept this was a problem with the parole system, he told BBC radio. 'I'm chair of the Parole Board, this would have been absolutely horrible for those two women concerned, and I apologise for it unreservedly.
He emphasised that the panel which reached the decision was 'very experienced, was chaired by a 'very senior female member, and would have considered a 'huge dossier of evidence. But he admitted that Worboys, who police suspect may have attacked more than 100 women, could reoffend.
'We recognise that we deal with some very dangerous people and we won't and can't release then until we are as confident as we can be that it's safe to do so, Professor Hardwick said. 'But in the end it is not an exact science.
He insisted the board could not legally give its reasoning for the release.
Worboys, an ex-stripper, who became known as the 'black cab rapist, was jailed indefinitely in 2009 with a minimum term of eight years. He was found guilty of 19 charges of drugging and sexually assaulting 12 female passengers, in one case raping a woman.
In 2010 police said his alleged victims were believed to have numbered 102, after more came forward following his trial and conviction. The allegations were investigated but no further action was taken on the advice of the Crown Prosecution Service, police said.
The mayor said the public needed answers from the police and the CPS about the 'flawed investigation and prosecution. 'The Parole Board must reconsider their decision to release this man. They also need to be open and transparent about why they reached their decision and explain these further failings, he added.
Sir Keir, now the shadow Brexit secretary, yesterday said: 'First and foremost, it's very important that if there are any allegations that anybody thinks have not been looked into, sufficiently or at all, they go to the police and make those allegations so they can be looked into.
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