Giving evidence at an inquest last week, England’s most senior probation officer admitted that inexperienced and unqualified staff had made a “fundamental error” by classing Damien Bendall as posing a “low risk of harm to partners and to children”.
When Bendall, who had a history of domestic violence, murdered his pregnant girlfriend and three children in September 2021, he was on probation after receiving a 24-month suspended sentence for arson. He is now serving a whole-life sentence for the murders.
