Arsonist who murdered mother and children in Nottingham flat fire has jail sentence reduced

An arsonist who murdered a mother and her two young daughters by pouring petrol through the letterbox of their Nottingham flat before torching their home, has won his bid to reduce his jail time.

Jamie Barrow, 32, was jailed for life with a minimum of 44 years in July last year for the murders of Fatoumatta Hydara, 28, and her daughters, Fatimah and Naeemah Drammeh, aged three and one.

The family died due to smoke inhalation after Barrow set their home on fire.

Barrow drank several cans of lager before taking petrol from his motorbike and setting the home alight in November 2022.

Prosecutors said Barrow had a “grievance” with the family, over rubbish being left in an alleyway.

He then stood outside the home in Fairisle Close in Clifton to watch the fire - ignoring the screams of the family who were trapped inside.

In a ruling at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Tuesday, Lord Justice Singh, Mr Justice Jay and Judge Mayo lowered his sentence to 38 years.

They said the original sentence was “manifestly excessive in the circumstances of this case”.

The judges also expressed their “sincere sympathy” to family members, adding: “Nothing in this judgment should be taken in any way to detract from the gravity of the offences committed by this appellant.”

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