Edition 111
MICK PHILPOTT stuck two fingers up in court yesterday as he, his wife Mairead and a friend were jailed for killing six of the couple’s children. Philpott, described as "the driving force" behind the fire that took the youngsters’ lives, was sentenced to life behind bars. "Shameless Mick", as he was known on his estate, was told by the trial judge at Nottingham Crown Court that he must serve a minimum of 15 years. Mrs Justice Kate Thirlwall also said he was a "disturbingly dangerous man" with "no moral compass", adding: "Your guiding principle is what Mick Philpott wants, Mick Philpott gets." The 56-year-old defendant looked down at the floor as the judge delivered the life term. He did not show any emotion until Mairead, 32, was sentenced. He started wiping tears from his eyes as she was told she would serve half of a 17-year term in jail. Their friend Paul Mosley, 46, received the same sentence as Mairead. He showed no emotion. After sentencing, family members in the public gallery applauded. One shouted: "Die, Mick, die!", while another said: "See you, Mairead. Hope you enjoy life on your own". A third person called out: "Your own babies!". In response, Philpott smiled and made an obscene hand gesture sticking two fingers up - as he was led from the dock.
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Friday, April 5, 2013
DEFIANT TO THE DEATH
Remorseless Philpott’s two-finger shame
The trio were found guilty of six counts of manslaughter - one for each of the victims on Tuesday. They were convicted of killing Jade Philpott, 10, and her brothers John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six, Jayden, five, and Duwayne, 13, in the blaze at the family home in Derby last May.
Mrs Justice Thirlwall told the trio they were all responsible for the deaths and she had "not the slightest doubt" that Mick Philpott was "the driving force" behind the plot. He shook his head as the judge outlined his previous violent relationships, including when he stabbed a former girlfriend 13 times.
She said he used that attempted murder conviction as a way of controlling other women. Philpott treated women as his "chattels", the judge told him, adding: "You barked orders and they would obey. You were the kingpin, Noone else mattered." Dawn Bestwick, his sister,
told reporters outside court that justice had been done for the children. She said: "Victory to them. They've gone down. That's it." Philpott lived in a council house, claimed thousands of pounds in benefit and refused to get a job. Chancellor George Osborne said the case highlighted the need for reform of the benefits system, as he questioned why taxpayers were funding "lifestyles like that". Mr Osborne said Philpott was responsible for his "absolutely horrendous" crimes, but said there was a "question for government and for society" about the benefits that allowed Philpott to live the way he did. Philpott and Mairead started the fire in the early hours of May 11, pouring petrol in the hallway of the property. Together with Mosley, they planned that Philpott should
break in by the back door and rescue the children. But the plot went wrong as fire ripped through the threebedroom council house in Victoria Road with temperatures reaching 500C. The judge described the plot as "a wicked and dangerous plan" that was "outside the comprehension of any right-thinking person". The three defendants had devised the plan to frame Lisa Willis, Philpott's former girlfriend. Unemployed Philpott was on bail for a violent road rage incident at the time of the children's deaths. In 1978 he was jailed for seven years after he repeatedly stabbed a former girlfriend and attacked her mother when she rushed to her daughter's aid. And in 1991 he received a two-year conditional discharge after he head-butted a colleague.
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