Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been murdered since 2012 by people who were previously convicted of murder and then released having served their prison sentences.

Serious further offences are very rare (less than 0.5% of offenders under statutory supervision commit serious further offences) and each one is taken extremely seriously and investigated fully, in order to identify any lessons for the better management of future cases.

Of course, murder is the most serious of all offences, and between 2012 and the end of 2017, 7 people have been murdered by people who were previously convicted of murder and then released by the Parole Board on licence, having served the minimum custodial term of their prison sentence.