𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

A heartbroken family has called on the Prime Minister to reform the “broken” justice system after the killer of a dad was released from prison. Michael Hoolickin was just 27 when he was murdered by “feral” Timothy Deakin.

Michael, who leaves behind a son, Ellis, was on a night out when he witnessed the man hitting his own sister, and stepped in to defend her, while telling Deakin that he “shouldn’t hit a woman”. The murderer, who was on probation after being arrested for biting a man’s ear off, stabbed Michael five times in the chest and stomach outside the Manchester pub in 2016.

The 23-year-old had been let out on licence eight months earlier after serving half of a four-and-a-half-year sentence. Despite being deemed “high risk”, the thug was released under supervision.

He was subject to strict licence conditions but was not recalled to custody, despite being arrested for driving offences and possession of drugs.

An inquest into Michael’s death heard that officials called the killer “feral and lawless”. It also found several missed opportunities by the probation service before his murder. Michael’s dad, Garry, says nothing has changed today and is calling on Andy Burnham to do something about the probation system.

The 67-year-old told The Sun that Mr Burnham had promised to back his family in their fight for justice last year, before becoming Prime Minister. He also slammed the system as “shameful”, claiming that families are being denied “true justice”.

The retired footballer has joined with over families to form an organisation called VOICE, in which the members met with Mr Burnham multiple times prior to him becoming Prime Minister to discuss the scandal. He also showed his support when the organisation was launched last year.

It is calling for an inquiry into the probation system.

It comes as Mr Burnham has paused a scheme that meant criminals, including rapists, sex offenders and killers, could have been released from prison early, in order to tackle overcrowding in prisons.

Since entering No. 10, the Prime Minister has put a halt to the “deplorable” scheme and ordered an urgent review following a backlash from victims’ families.

Garry said: “This kid should never have been on the street – and it was all hidden from us. He shouldn’t have been out. He should have been recalled 51 times.”

He added: “If they had, my son might still be alive.”

Deakin was jailed for life with a minimum of 27 years. But the grieving father was then informed via email that the killer was moved to a lower security Category C prison – four years ago.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Our thoughts remain with the family of Michael Hoolickin, whose murder was a tragedy. Timothy Deakin is rightly serving a life sentence for this crime.

“While rare, we know it’s devastating for victims and their loved ones when people supervised by probation go on to commit serious offences.

“The perpetrators responsible face the full force of the law, and we carry out a thorough review of supervision where a probation manager meets with loved ones to explain and apologise for any failures.

“We are strengthening probation services with a record extra £700m investment and are updating our Victims Code to clearly set out the support and treatment victims should expect.”