A notorious rapist who was once branded Britain's most wanted man is back on the streets despite receiving 13 life sentences. Andrew Barlow has spent time out of prison as he prepares for his release next month, it has been revealed.
Barlow, formerly Andrew Longmire, was dubbed 'The Coronation Street rapist' as most of his victims were attacked in their own terraced homes in the north of England. His crimes saw him given multiple life sentences with a fixed 20-year tariff after being convicted of 11 rapes, three attempted rapes, indecent assault, and using a firearm to resist arrest.
The Parole Board has now confirmed his imminent release, the MEN reports - and a summary of the reasons why he is being granted his freedom after 34 years in custody reveals he has already had a taste of freedom.
Between 1981 and 1988 Barlow went on two separate campaigns of terror, raping women in five different counties. The first was between 1981 and 1984 and the second between August 1987 and his arrest in January 1988, when he opened fire with a shotgun as two police officers detained him.
He would spend days carrying out reconnaissance on his victims' homes to work out domestic routines, so he knew at what time husbands and partners would leave for work so he could attack women alone. He preyed upon teenagers and young mothers.
The final two convictions were for offences committed in 1981 and 1982. In the first a woman was raped in front of her three-year-old child. In the second a 15-year-old girl was raped at knifepoint. They were solved thanks to advances in DNA technology and Barlow admitted them both, but said he could not remember either attack. Barlow, who lived in Bolton and Oldham, was a Category A prisoner until this was downgraded to B in 2010.
Rapist's behaviour has been 'good'
The decision to release Barlow was made on November 30 - the eighth time his case had been reviewed by the Parole Board since the expiry of his initial 20-year tariff.
A Parole Board Decision Summary says: "In 2020, a panel of the Parole Board considered his case and recommended transfer to open conditions. This recommendation was accepted by the Secretary of State and Mr Barlow was transferred to open conditions in January 2021.
"Following that move, he had successfully undertaken periods of temporary release where he was escorted by a prison officer. The panel heard how well he was progressing in open conditions. In June 2022, Mr Barlow was moved back to closed conditions. After hearing from witnesses and Mr Barlow, the panel concluded that the evidence did not support the reasons for the transfer back to closed prison.
"The panel examined the release plan provided by Mr Barlow’s probation officer and weighed its proposals against assessed risks. The plan included a requirement to reside in designated accommodation as well as strict limitations on Mr Barlow’s contacts, movements and activities. The panel concluded this plan was robust enough to manage Mr Barlow in the community at this stage."
The panel also considered evidence from a prison service psychologist. A second psychologist commissioned on behalf of Mr Barlow recommended his release. The panel also considered a statement from a victim which conveyed the impact of Barlow’s crimes and the consequences of his offending.
The decision summary says that at the time of his offending, Barlow had been "thinking about sex a lot, thinking he had the right to have sex as and when he wanted and thinking it was acceptable to use sexual violence. He had a chaotic way of life, misused substances and struggled to control extreme emotions."
It adds: "Mr Barlow was not managing certain aspects of his personality and had unhelpful ways of thinking. He also demonstrated a willingness to use violence and weapons and did not care about the effects of his actions on others."
Its says his behaviour while in custody has been "good" for many years. He has obtained educational and vocational qualifications. He has completed accredited programmes to address sex offending. In 2002 he commenced treatment at the Fens Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder Unit at Whitemoor Prison. He has also spent considerable time in a regime to help people recognise and deal with their complex problems.
His release is subject to the following licence conditions, which must be strictly adhered to. They include residing at a designated address, to be of good behaviour, to disclose developing relationships, and to report as required for supervision or other appointments.
He will be subject to an enhanced form of supervision or monitoring including drug testing, signing-in times, GPS trail monitoring, polygraph testing and a specified curfew.
He must comply with other identified limitations concerning contacts, activities, residency and an exclusion zone to avoid contact with victims. He must also abide by specified restrictions relating to the use of electronic technology.
Unsolved cases cracked
In the decades that followed his sentence in October 1988, Barlow was linked to more offending as previously unsolved cases were cracked.
While behind bars in 2010, Barlow was convicted of an historic offence committed on September 7th 1981 in Sheffield. Masked, he went into the victim’s house after her husband had gone to work. He threatened her with a foot-long screwdriver, forced her to undress, and put a cushion cover over her head before raping her.
A court heard the woman thought she was going to be killed and was terrified the attacker would harm her young child, who was hiding behind the settee.
Barlow was finally caught after a ‘cold-case review’ by South Yorkshire Police. Sentencing him in 2010, The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Alan Goldsack QC, said the attack was a ‘dreadful offence’. He said: “You raped a young woman in her own home and in the presence of her little child,” he said, adding: “You are a dangerous man.”
After setting the minimum term of two years, the judge told Barlow: “Whether, after that, you are ever released will only happen if the various risk factors the parole board identified have been reduced almost to the point of not existing at all. On the evidence I have seen, that’s not likely to happen in the foreseeable future.”
In 2017, Barlow was convicted again - this time of the rape of a 15-year-old girl committed in Great Lever, Bolton, in January 1982. He went into the girl's home at around 8.45am, when she was alone in her bedroom, after both her parents had left the the house.
He threatened the 'petrified' girl with a knife and pulled off her clothes before raping her. Barlow was linked to the case after GMP cold case detectives re-opened it in 2009. He was interviewed that year at Preston Police Station, but denied all knowledge of the attack.
Advances in DNA technology meant they were finally able to identify him as the attacker and he was arrested at HMP Wymott in June 2017. He later pleaded guilty to the offence.
That last conviction prompted a woman to write to Martin Bottomley, Head of GMP's Cold Case Unit. She wrote: "You are the reason I will sleep at night and I just needed to thank you so very much," after a thirty year burden was lifted.
She had been living in fear of him getting out. Attacked in 1987, by Barlow, she said in her letter to Mr Bottomley: "I am writing to thank you and your team from the bottom of my heart for pursuing a cold case against the above and (Barlow) getting a 13th life sentence conviction, even though the judge only saw fit to give a minimum of two years
"I was one of the last victims and left with multiple stab wounds and a collapsed lung. This man is without doubt a danger to any woman that comes near him. I need to congratulate you on this cold case success."
She adds: "I have been blessed, I have survived and had a productive and happy life thanks to the resolute support and love of my husband, family, and friends. However, especially recently, I have had an underlying dread that he will be released, and I know that this was getting very close. So now, thanks to your team, I am able to forget about this... and move on yet again."
Barlow was given his final life sentence at Bolton Crown Court in October 2017, appearing via a video link. At the time Mr Bottomley said: "This is a great result for the victim, bringing her comfort, and to further safeguard the public from this man, who in my view still poses a threat."
Zahra Baqri, defending, told the court that Barlow 'has suffered from a psychopathic disorder' and had made 'positive changes' while in prison.
'I am staggered he is being released'
Former editor of the Manchester Evening News, Paul Horrocks, was chief crime reporter at the time that Barlow was committing his crimes. He broke the story that the attacks were linked. "I went to see Detective Chief Supt Jim Paterson, at Leigh Police Station. He told me that they thought all the attacks were linked and they had launched Operation Osprey to catch the culprit. For a while he was the most wanted man in Britain.
"His modus operandi was to sit outside people's homes in his car, for days sometimes, working out how to get into backstreet homes and looking for people's daily routines, when husbands and other family left the house, so he could attack women who were alone. I am staggered that he is being released."
Operation Osprey, led by Mr Paterson, continued over several years. As the net closed in on him, Barlow went on the run. He was on the loose for three months, armed with two shotguns and a bag of ammunition, and was eventually caught after shooting at two unarmed officers who confronted him in a car park in Wirral.
PCs Ken Owen and Derek Murphy spotted Barlow asleep in a van which had been parked with its engine running, lights on and windscreen wipers going. They thought he was a drink-driver but when they went to arrest him, Barlow pulled out a shotgun, which PC Murphy grabbed as it was pointed at his stomach. The gun went off, missing the PC.
Barlow fired again as the policeman dived for cover and was then trapped in has van door as PC Owen drove the police car at the van as he tried to reload the gun. He struggled free and PC Owen drove after him, knocking him over the bonnet, before he was overpowered by the two officers, who had no idea who they had arrested.
He was brought to justice using DNA technology which was then in its infancy, and his case was the first time one man had been linked to so many offences through DNA testing. Mr Paterson, who served under two chief constables, Sir James Anderson and Sir David Wilmot, received the Queen's Police Medal in 1992 and retired from the force the following year. He died in 2012.
During his 30-year police career he had investigated and headed many important cases, but Barlow was the most infamous. In his obituary the Glasgow Herald said: "In the process, was responsible for a sea change in senior CID management style, engendering a more approachable, balanced atmosphere thanks to a quiet, mild-mannered character combined with formidable abilities and experience."
What the Parole Board says
In a statement the Parole Board said: “We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board has directed the release of Andrew Barlow following an oral hearing. Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.
"A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims. Members read and digest hundreds of pages of evidence and reports in the lead up to an oral hearing. Evidence from witnesses such as probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officials supervising the offender in prison as well as victim personal statements may be given at the hearing.
"It is standard for the prisoner and witnesses to be questioned at length during the hearing which often lasts a full day or more. Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority."
