The "arrogant" son of a former Tory minister jailed for more than seven years in 2019 for crushing his girlfriend's three-year-old son to death with his car seat has been released early from prison.
Stephen Waterson, 30, was returning home after shopping in South London when he reversed his electronic car seat onto Alfie Lamb who was sitting at his mother's feet in the footwell behind.
The child began crying and choking , but his mother Adrian Hoare told him to "shut up" before Waterson put the seat forward again.
By the time the trio arrived at Waterson's home in Croydon, south London, Alfie had collapsed and stopped breathing.
He died at St Thomas' Hospital in South London from catastrophic brain damage on February 4, 2018, three days after the sickening incident.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson today confirmed that despite having received a seven-year sentence, Waterson had been "released under probation supervision after serving the prison part of his sentence".
However, he could be returned back into jail if he breaches the strict conditions he was under," the spokesperson said.
Waterson, the son of former Tory MP Nigel Waterson, was described at the time by police as "arrogant, selfish and deeply unpleasant", as he tried to avoid prosecution by repeatedly lying and intimidating witnesses.
Waterson and Hoare assaulted the two other passengers, in the Audi A4, in a bid to cover up their crime, the Old Bailey heard at the time.
The driver, Marcus Richardson, was assaulted and threatened by Waterson, while Hoare slapped Emilie Williams across the face two weeks after Alfie's death, it is claimed.
Waterson denied manslaughter during an earlier trial in which the jury was unable to reach a verdict, before pleading guilty on the first day of his retrial.
During sentencing, Old Bailey judge Mr Justice Timothy Kerr told Waterson that he was "manipulative, dishonest, deceitful, controlling, threatening, and sometimes violent".
He was not due for release until 2023 if he was to serve the full sentence handed to him when he was jailed at the Old Bailey for manslaughter, perverting the course of justice by lying to police, and intimidating witnesses.
But the child killer, who was 26 at the time of Alfie's death, is now out from behind bars, having been released under probation supervision.
Commenting on his release, the Ministry of Justice described Waterson's offending as a “despicable crime".
"Our sympathies remain with the family," they said.
The Ministry was also looking into reports that Alfie's family members were not informed of the offender's release in advance.
Hairdresser Hoare, who was just 24 at the time, was jailed in May 2019 after being convicted of child cruelty.
While her two-year and nine-month sentence was also cut short, she was recalled to prison last year for breaching her licence conditions.
Before going back, however, Hoare, who has lived in both Gravesend and Chatham, told a newspaper she was a good mum.
Hoare, a former Northfleet School for Girls pupil, was cleared of manslaughter.
