Joanna Simpson’s killer secretly blocked from moving to open jail — after being deemed too dangerous
THE killer of Joanna Simpson was secretly blocked from moving to an open jail only last year — because he was deemed too dangerous.
Ex-pilot Robert Brown, 59, is due for automatic release in November.
It has sparked fury from Joanna’s family and campaigners, including Carrie Johnson, wife of ex-PM Boris.
Just months ago, Brown — who battered Joanna, 46, to death with a claw hammer — was found to still pose a serious threat to the public.
Prison chiefs carried out a routine review of his security status with a view to switching him to open conditions.
Yet they turned him down — and he remains at a category C jail.
The Sun understands officials ruled he had not met a key threshold to show his risk level had lowered.
A source said: “If he was deemed too big a risk for a transfer to an open prison last year, how can he be safe to walk the streets now?”
Brown hit Joanna 14 times over the head within earshot of their two children in 2010, a week before their divorce was due to be finalised.
He has served half of a 26- year manslaughter sentence and is set for release on licence.
Joanna’s mum Diana Parkes is to meet Deputy PM Dominic Raab today and seek his help