The Justice Secretary has said it was “unacceptable” that the man who threw acid over television presenter Katie Piper was able to evade monitoring and is suspected to have fled the country after being released on licence. Officers are seeking Stefan Sylvestre, 34, after he was recalled to jail for breaching his licence conditions, and said last week that “inquiries undertaken so far indicate” he left the UK on August 2.
Sylvestre was given a life sentence in 2009 for the acid attack on Ms Piper that left her permanently scarred. He was released on licence in 2018.
In a session of justice questions in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Labour highlighted the case as an example of the Probation Service being “so run down it can no longer control offenders”, and called for a Government apology. Justice Secretary Brandon Lewis defended the Probation Service, but said of Sylvestre’s case: “It’s not acceptable and it shouldn’t have happened.”
