Lisa Skidmore: MoJ apologises for failings before nurse's murder
The Ministry of Justice has apologised to the family of Lisa Skidmore for their "failings" prior to her death in 2016.
The 37-year-old nurse was raped and murdered by Leroy Campbell, a convicted sex offender, after police and probation officers failed to act on admissions he made only a month before he attacked her.
When speaking with officers in October 2016, he said he was "noticing open windows" and "giving himself two weeks" get over his feelings of re-offend.
Despite the comments he was not recalled to prison or placed under curfew.
A jury at Black Country Coroner's Court found that the failings of the police and probation service contributed to the death of Ms Skidmore.
'Further action will be taken'
Now, the authorities claim that they are taking a "number of steps to prevent anything like this happening again."
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “This was an appalling crime and we again apologise for the failings in this case. Our thoughts remain with Lisa’s family and friends.
“Since Lisa’s tragic murder we have taken a number of steps intended to prevent anything like this happening again.
"Our work with the police is now more joined-up and we have improved management oversight, recruited more probation officers and strengthened our guidance for staff.
“We will carefully consider the jury’s findings and take any further action that is needed.”
On Monday, the inquest jury heard that Detective Sergeant Sophie Clement, of Wolverhampton Police, suggested to a senior probation officer that Campbell was recalled to prison or moved back to a hostel in Bilston, where he was staying before he moved to Newell House in Moseley, Birmingham.
However, the probation service refused to move him back to Bilston and his case was moved from DS Clement's control over to a team in Birmingham.
Chief Superintendent Mark Payne added: “The murder of Lisa Skidmore and the assault on her mother is one of the most horrific and appalling crimes in recent years and our thoughts remain with Lisa’s family who are, quite rightly, seeking answers for how this happened.
“We are committed to reducing re-offending and protecting the public from harm, and to do this we have a dedicated Offender Management Team who work with partner agencies and offenders to assist rehabilitation and also identify risk.
"In the last six years we have invested millions of pounds and tripled the number of officers managing those released from prison.
“However in this case we recognise that those interventions did not prevent an innocent woman from losing her life.”
