Connor Brown's mum 'disgusted' as son's killer jailed for harbouring a murderer

• Watch Kris Jepson's report from 6 November 2023

The mother of an 18-year-old man who was stabbed to death has said she is "disgusted" after her son's killer was jailed for harbouring a murderer.

Ally Gordon was jailed for the manslaughter of Connor Brown in 2019. He has appeared in court again after helping to hide Anthony Keating who was on the run from police after killing Sunderland man Blaine Hammond.

Gordon, who admitted the offence at an earlier hearing, was jailed for three years and four months at a hearing at Newcastle Crown Court on Monday 6 November.

The court heard Gordon had been on licence after serving his time in prison when he gave Keating a place to stay in Billingham.

Keating was arrested two days later at the property, but when asked in interviews why Gordon had not reported him to the police he said “I don’t grass, he’s a good friend”.

The judge said this was misplaced loyalty to an old friend and showed a lack of maturity.

The court also heard how Gordon had deleted call logs to protect himself from being linked to assisting an offender and that he’d lied about knowing the extent of Keating’s crime - as phone records proved he’d searched media reports about the murder. 

Messages found on his phone also suggest he knew Keating was wanted with one saying “he’s on the run like me” - Gordon claimed that meant he was on the run from people in Sunderland, but the judge did not agree.

Keating, along with Louis Wheelan, were jailed for life in January after being found guilty of the murder of Blaine Hammond, from Sunderland.

They had beaten the 22-year-old and dumped his body in a disused exchange box on Saltburn Road in December 2021.

Connor Brown's mother Tanya Brown, who campaigns to raise awareness about the dangers of knife crime, told ITV Tyne Tees she was appalled that Gordon was allowed to commit the offence while on licence.

She said: "I feel disgusted. I feel let down. I feel really sad for Blaine's family. While he did not have a direct influence on the death of Blaine he has had that impact on the family while they are trying to grieve for their son. It's caused more upset and going back to court and having to deal with it again.

"For me, he did this while he was on licence for his part in Connor's death. He hasn't learnt from his sentence - the unduly lenient sentence he got. He hasn't learnt anything from it."

She added: "The police do a fabulous job but the justice system and sentencing - it's not enough."

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