John Lowe told he will die in prison for shooting dead partner and her daughter on his dog farm in Surrey

An 82-year-old puppy farmer has been jailed for at least 25 years for murdering his partner and her daughter in a double killing on his dog farm in Surrey.

John Lowe was told he would die in prison for shooting dead Christine Lee, 66, and her daughter, Lucy Lee, 40, at Keepers Cottage Stud near Farnham, Surrey, in February.

The judge, Mr Justice Singh, sentenced Lowe to life in prison with a minimum term of 25 years alongside a 10-year sentence for possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

He was led down to the court cells as Stacy Banner, the daughter of Christine Lee and sister of Lucy, sobbed in court while being comforted by friends.

Lowe sat expressionless in the dock as prosecutor Mark Dennis QC said there had been a “persistent failure by the defendant to show any true remorse at any stage for what happened on that day”. He called for a minimum 30-year term for Lowe, arguing that he aggravated the murders with his intention to kill.

Lowe’s defence council Ian Lawrie QC said before the sentencing that his client understood that he would have to live until 112 to have a chance of being released. “I have to be blunt, the reality is whatever sentence is passed, and there has to be a sentence that reflects the gravity, he’s going to die in prison,” he said.

Mr Justice Singh praised Lucy Lee’s “remarkable act of courage” in making a 999 call after her mother had been shot, before returning to confront Lowe only to be shot twice in the head and chest. He said Lowe “must have chased Lucy Lee in order to shoot her dead after the first shot”, which was one of several aggravating factors in the double murder.

Christine Lee’s daughter, Stacey Banner, was in court along with six jurors to see Lowe be jailed. In a victim impact statement read to the court, she said: “I cannot believe my mum and sister are dead and I will not see them again. Lucy was my big sister and often comforted me and protected me. I function because I have children but I don’t live.”

Banner criticised Surrey police for returning the shotgun used to kill the two women, which had been taken away from Lowe in March 2013 but returned to him months later.

Surrey police apologised to the victims’ family and admitted that its decision to return the firearms was “flawed”. The force is under investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission over its contact with Lowe and suggestions that officers were told he wanted to hire a hitman to kill a former partner in the late 1990s.