11:43 Katie Timms

Plymouth MP Luke Pollard claims families of Vanessa George victims 'not told' about her release

Plymouth MP Luke Pollard has slammed the authorities after the victims of Britain’s worst female paedophile found out about her release from the media.

Mr Pollard appeared on BBC Two’s Victoria Derbyshire show after it announced that Plymouth paedophile, Vanessa George, has been released.

He believes that as George has never revealed the names of her victims meaning the parents whose children are “potential victims” who have got a “life sentence ahead of them of not knowing if it was their child that Vanessa George abused or not”.

Vanessa George, was jailed for a minimum of seven years in 2009 for disgusting crimes against babies and toddlers in her care.

George, 49, was found guilty of sexually abusing children whilst working at Little Ted’s nursery in Laira and sending vile pictures to her paedophile lover.

The Plymouth MP has slammed “the whole system around parole” and claims that the voices of victims are not valued “well enough”.

During her sentencing at Bristol Crown Court Mr Justice Royce was keen to stress to parents in attendance - and the media - that while he was passing an indeterminate sentence “it is, in effect, a life sentence”.

Despite this, following oral hearings held on May 21 and July 2 this year, the Parole Board directed the release of Vanessa George following a review.

Mr Pollard has campaigned to keep George behind bars and despite a last-ditch bid to discover if there were still further offences lying on file and a plea to new Home Secretary Priti Patel, said it would appear that all avenues to keep George in prison had been exhausted.

“It’s sickening, to be honest, she should not be released at all,” Mr Pollard told the Victoria Derbyshire show.

“She still refuses to name the babies and toddlers that she abused and the sheer level of anger and disgust that families here in Plymouth feel about this, cannot be underestimated.

“It really is wrong that she is being released, especially when she keeps refusing to name those kids.”

Mr Pollard added: “The parents have got a life sentence ahead of them, of not knowing if it was their child that Vanessa George abused or not.

“Vanessa George is out on the streets, I haven’t had official conformation of that and the way the authorities have treated the victims of Vanessa George, having them find out about it in the media rather than direct from the authorities, shows that this system isn’t working properly. It needs to change.

“But Vanessa George will be out on the streets. I am glad she is not coming to Devon or Cornwall again because she is not welcome here, she should not be near any children again, in my mind.”

Victoria Derbyshire asked Mr Pollard if he believed that one of the conditions of George’s release should have been to give closure to her victims and their families by naming those she abused.

He said: “I think it should be. I don’t think you can show genuine remorse for a crime like this when you are refusing to name the children that she abused.

“I also think the whole system around parole here isn’t valuing the voice of victims well enough.

“We have heard already from one of the parents of the kids she potentially abused.”

In a decision summary of George’s release, which was sent to parents of her potential victims, the panel noted how it had considered “the release plan provided by Ms George’s probation officer”.

The panel stated that it included “very strict and extensive licence conditions, requiring Ms George to live at an address approved by professionals as well as preventing her from using social media and restricting her movements and contacts.

“The panel concluded that this plan was robust enough to manage Ms George in the community.”

Their requests were answered with a map which shows the exclusion zone - effectively all of Devon and Cornwall.

Mr Pollard added: “But she will be settled somewhere in Britain, so that’s a different community that won’t be familiar with her crimes where she will be living amongst.

“In my mind, she shouldn’t be in the community, she should be behind bars.”

The MOJ is expected to release a statement later today about George’s release.