Police killer to be released after 45 years

  • Anglia
Harry Roberts Credit: PA Wire

Police killer Harry Roberts is to be released from prison in Cambridgeshire, despite being warned by a judge he faced dying in jail.

Roberts, who is now 78, was jailed for life for the murder of three policemen in an act which shocked the country and was condemned by the judge as "the most heinous crime for a generation or more".

Roberts was sitting with two accomplices in his van near Wormwood Scrubs Prison in west London preparing for an armed robbery when he opened fire on three plain-clothed officers.

Roger Fox, David Wombwell and Christopher Head Credit: PA Wire

Detective Sergeant Christopher Head, Detective Constable David Wombwell, and Pc Geoffrey Fox, were all killed in the attack on August 12 1966.

William Morris, standing near the hay barn at Blounts Farm where Harry Roberts is thought to have spent the night before his capture Credit: PA Wire

Harry Roberts was arrested at Blounts Farm, near Bishops Stortford in Herfordshire. he's thought to have spent the night before his arrest in a hay barn on the farm.

Roberts is expected to leave Littlehey Prison in Cambridgeshire shortly, after the Parole Board approved his release.

1966: The bodies of three unarmed CID police officers are removed from the scene where they were shot dead Credit: PA Wire

His upcoming release has sparked fury, with the Police Federation branding it a "betrayal" of the dead officers, while Boris Johnson said the public will be "sickened by this news"

The funeral of the three officers Credit: PA Wire

In May 2013, Home Secretary Theresa May said she would introduce legislation to make sure life does mean life for people who murder police officers. The measure is expected to come into law next year.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg defended the Parole Board, saying it would be a "disaster" to let emotions dictate what prisoners can be released and when.

Click below to watch our report from Matthew Hudson