Elle Edwards' dad vows to 'stop scumbags' being released from prison early

26-year-old Elle Edwards was shot dead outside The Lighthouse Inn in Wallasey Village on Christmas Eve 2022. Celebrating the festive period with her friends and family, the beautician was an innocent bystander in a ‘gang revenge’ shooting outside the pub, when Connor Chapman opened fire with a Skorpion sub-machine gun on a crowd of people just before midnight.

Twelve shots were fired. Ms Edwards was hit twice in the head, once in the shoulder and died almost instantly. Intended targets Kieran Salkeld and Jake Duffy were also hit, but survived.

After the shooting, Chapman fled the scene in the car and drove to friend Thomas Waring’s house, where CCTV showed Chapman, with distinctive long hair, appearing to drop the gun on the pavement as he walked towards the address.

• Watch True Crime Stories: The Murder of Elle Edwards on Shots! TV.

In July 2023, Chapman was jailed for life with a minimum term of 48 years for Elle’s murder, and Waring, now 21, was convicted of possession of a prohibited firearm and assisting an offender and sentenced to nine years in prison.

But Elle’s father, Tim Edwards, has now received a letter from the Ministry of Justice stating that Waring will be released early as part of a scheme to address prison population issues. The letter explained that Waring's release had been brought forward from September 2027 to as early as April 2026.

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Edwards said: “It makes me sick to think he's being rewarded for his crimes, by being released early," adding, "It pains me to think that this is the case, not just in our case but in other cases that are happening regularly."

Prime Minister Kier Starmer said his government had been “forced” to release prisoners early, due to overcrowding. Speaking to BBC Radio Merseyside, he added: “I don’t want to release these prisoners, I’m absolutely clear about that, but equally we cannot have a situation which we were faced with where the police were saying to me ‘if we don’t get some of the people out of our prisons, we are not going to be able to arrest people who need to be arrested’.”

Posting on Facebook, Mr Edwards said he will “keep making a noise” and “stop scumbags who have been involved in serious violence/murder” from being released early.

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