Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd should have his legal aid cut off until he returns to face justice, a cabinet minister said.
James Brokenshire said it was ‘astonishing’ that fugitive Shepherd is receiving legal aid in order to lodge an appeal against a six-year sentence for killing 24-year-old Charlotte Brown.
The housing secretary’s dramatic intervention comes a day after Theresa May told the runaway to give himself up to police and called the case ‘shocking’.
Brokenshire, a former lawyer, rounded on Shepherd’s solicitors for refusing to co-operate with police in their hunt for the callous killer, saying their attitude was “surprising, at best”.
He has been involved in the ‘appalling’ case since 2016, when he was contacted by Charlotte’s father Graham, who lives in his Old Bexley and Sidcup constituency in south-east London.
Brokenshire said he wanted to see Shepherd, 31, ‘behind bars’, adding: “He has shown utter contempt for the family... and utter contempt for the justice process itself.
“That is just unacceptable. It is right that all police and other resources are deployed to see he is brought to justice.”
The Daily Mail has offered a £25,000 reward for information leading to Shepherd’s capture – a move Brokenshire said had been ‘very helpful’ in the international manhunt. Charlotte was killed in December 2015 on a date with Shepherd, who took her for a spin in his speedboat on the Thames in London while drunk. She died when his boat flipped over at high speed.
Shepherd, who is also wanted for allegedly glassing a Devon pub barman in the face in a separate incident, has already run up a legal aid bill totalling almost £100,000.
Justice Secretary David Gauke has asked officials to look at whether to close an apparent loophole in the law that allows criminals to claim public money to appeal against convictions while they are on the run. Brokenshire, a former Home Office minister, said there was a clear case for action.