The planned release of Greater Manchester's most notorious rapist this month has been halted. Andrew Barlow, formerly Andrew Longmire, was due to be paroled in January after a decision by the Parole Board on December 14.
But after a backlash by victims and their families, criticism by veteran MP, Graham Stringer, and intervention by the Deputy Prime Minister, Dominic Raab, has seen the release of Barlow temporarily blocked.
Barlow, 66, was given 13 life sentences after two campaigns of rape in the 1980s across Greater Manchester and other northern towns. The decision was met with disbelief by victims and their relatives, and described by Mr Stringer, MP for Blackley and Broughton as a "perversion of justice".
