Latest news with #HMPDownview
Daily Mail
01-07-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Tony Hudgell's mother is released from prison: Britain's worst parent who abused baby so badly he had to have his legs amputated is FREED from jail after serving just seven years
Tony Hudgell's evil biological mother has been released from prison just seven years after she was convicted of the sickening abuse that left him needing both of his legs amputated. Jody Simpson, then 24, was jailed in 2018 for 10 years alongside Tony's birth father Anthony Smith after they were both convicted of child cruelty offences. At just six-weeks-old, Tony suffered from broken fingers and toes, torn ligaments and contracted sepsis after his birth parents carried out the depraved abuse. The twisted couple left their innocent baby to suffer in agony for ten days before finally taking him to hospital. He was on the verge of death when medics first saw him, and due to the extreme level of torture he was subjected to, both of his legs had to be amputated in 2017. Despite being jailed for 10 years in 2018, Simpson, now 31, was freed from HMP Downview in Sutton today after the Parole Board approved her release under supervision. Simpson left the prison in a blacked-out car and was whisked away to a halfway house. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson told MailOnline: 'This was a horrific crime that saw Tony Hudgell mercilessly tortured by his birth parents and our thoughts remain with him and his loved ones. 'Now that Jody Simpson has been released as directed by the Independent Parole Board, she will be subject to strict supervision and licence conditions. She faces an immediate return to prison if she breaks the rules.' The decision to release Simpson has been harshly criticised by Tony's adoptive mother, Paula Hudgell who has warned the boy's biological mother 'remains a serious risk to children'. Mrs Hudgell wrote in a post on social media: 'After serving just two years on licence, she will be legally free to live as she chooses. This includes being around children -and even having another child. 'This situation underscores the urgent need for a national child cruelty register - a system to ensure that individuals with a history of harming children are monitored, restricted, and prevented from reoffending. 'Our children deserve protection. A register would not only help safeguard vulnerable young lives, but also bring peace of mind to communities across the country. 'It's time we put children's safety first.' Mrs Hudgell is now campaigning for the government to introduce a National Register of Child Abusers so those convicted of child cruelty can never work with young people and any future children they have will be taken into care. However, a letter from Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: 'Unfortunately the Department for Education is not in a position to be able to develop and deliver a child cruelty register at this time.' Mrs Hudgell said she was 'absolutely disappointed' by the response, but vowed to keep lobbying the government. 'We've got to keep pushing and pushing. But I won't give up, I won't back down,' she said. In 2021, Mrs Hudgell and Tony, who is now 10, successfully campaigned for the introduction of Tony's Law. It calls for child abusers to face possible life sentences and was enacted in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. Earlier this month, the Parole Board agreed to release the monster mother from jail after she had 'engaged with art psychotherapy…and victim awareness work'. Simpson had already been released from prison before in February 2024, but was recalled five months later after breaking her strict licence conditions by having 'a relationship with a convicted sex offender'. An application for her second release was made earlier this year to be heard in public, instead of in private as is usually the case. The appeal argued the proceedings should be able to be reported on due to the 'far reaching and profound in respect of life changing injuries caused to Tony'. Simpson opposed the public hearing as she believed she 'should be able to speak openly and honestly about her life, her own mental health, her work in custody including psychotherapy, her time on licence'. Refusing the application to have it held publicly, the Parole Board said in its judgement: 'Ms Simpson's behaviour in custody seems to have been good. 'On many occasions she was bullied by other prisoners who were aware of the nature of her offences and of the extensive publicity given to the case in the media. 'This has caused various difficulties for her during her sentence, which need not be detailed here.' It added: 'Ms Simpson continues to receive threats and experience bullying within the prison. There is a lot of name calling and verbal threats to harm her. 'Prior to release she was physically assaulted in her room. She is aware there are prisoners who will follow through with their threats and she tries to do all she can to keep herself safe. 'If a public hearing was granted, more people in the prison (and community) would know of her, and this would make any part of the prison unsafe for her, in turn impacting the prison officers' ability to maintain order in the prison and protect Ms Simpson from attacks. 'Ms Simpson will in any event be at risk of harm from other prisoners in the establishment and potentially in any future establishment and in the community due to the nature of the index offence and the threats she continually receives in this respect. 'Having a public hearing will cause the threats and bullying to escalate. The index offence stirs up strong feelings, and Ms Simpson has genuine fears for her safety.' Mrs Hudgell wrote in a post on social media: 'After serving just two years on licence, she will be legally free to live as she chooses. This includes being around children - and even having another child' Tony's biological father, Anthony Smith, has also lodged an appeal for an early release. An application was made for his parole hearing to be made public, but it was not granted and will instead be made in private. When it was revealed Jody Simpson would be released again, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: 'This was a horrific crime that saw Tony Hudgell mercilessly tortured by his birth parents and our thoughts remain with him and his loved ones. 'Now that the independent parole board has directed her release, Jody Simpson will be subject to strict supervision and licence conditions. She faces an immediate return to prison if she breaks the rules.' Tony has previously been hailed a hero by Prince William and wife Kate over his extraordinary fundraising walks to help vulnerable children. He has won a Pride of Britain award for raising £1.7million for the hospital which started treating him and has also received the British Empire Medal for services to the prevention of child cruelty.
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
South East prison garden heads to RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025
A garden inspired by a South East social enterprise project helping to train women in prisons will celebrate "strong beauty" and femininity when it goes on display at the RHS Chelsea Flower Glasshouse Garden will return to the show when it opens next week, showcasing the "healing power of nature", the project behind it garden, which is inspired by the work of The Glasshouse at East Sutton Park prison in Maidstone, will later be donated to women's prison HMP Downview in Banstead at the end of the Thompson, the designer behind the garden, said: "I said I would never do another Chelsea after my 10th show in 2019 but when the opportunity came up I couldn't say no." She added: "These women are determined to improve their lives by getting some kind of training and making the most of it so that when they get out of prison they can find a job."You are stripped of all self-worth in prison and deprived of nature and by putting these women in the spotlight is wonderful for them." Ms Thompson, who has creative studios in London and Eastbourne, said she wanted to use a colour palette of deeper reds, pinks and crimsons to portray the "strong beauty" that has inspired the garden garden centres around an elliptical pavilion made from recycled acrylic and is designed to offer a space of reflection and support which will eventually sit inside HMP is the second time The Glasshouse project had been able to take part in the Chelsea Flower Show after its garden, designed and built by women who were in prison or who had been recently released, won a gold medal in project provides horticultural training and support to women in prison, leading to a 0% reoffending RHS Chelsea Flower Show begins on Tuesday, 20 May and runs until Saturday, 24 May.
Times
08-05-2025
- General
- Times
Chelsea garden to bring nature into prison for female offenders
A garden to be showcased at the Chelsea Flower Show will be relocated to HMP Downview to aid the rehabilitation of female offenders. Jo Thompson, who worked with female ex-offenders assisted by the Glasshouse, a rehabilitation not-for-profit centred around horticulture, said the garden is designed to be 'safe and private' and give a green space to women who are often 'deprived' of nature. The garden will be unveiled at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show on May 19 and then re-created at HMP Downview, a women-only prison in Surrey, as soon as the show finishes. The final design cost £1 million and was funded by Project Giving Back, a charity that supports gardens for good causes at Chelsea Flower Show. Thompson said she changed her approach to the garden after meeting with the women in prison who worked on the project. 'It's easy to have preconceptions about people in prison,' she said. 'I tore up my notes, started again and instead I focused on what [the women] had said about privacy. 'Shining a torch in your face at four o'clock in the morning, or constant noise all night … I realised that they needed to have somewhere private. They needed to have somewhere that felt beautiful, because they were deprived of any link with nature at all, and somewhere where they could garden if they wanted to.' • Garden design: seven golden rules for your patch The design took approximately two years to complete, and female offenders are expected to be able to access the garden from July this year. The Glasshouse, which worked with Thompson on the project, is a social enterprise that trains women to grow house plants, which are sold online and also installed and maintained in corporate offices. The Times Crime and Justice Commission, which published its final report last month, recommended better provision of rehabilitation initiatives like the training and work opportunities provided by the Glasshouse. Kali Hamerton-Stove, co-founder of the Glasshouse, said that the garden symbolised 'a real push' towards rehabilitation among the public. 'I think people are starting to see there needs to be a change in the way that we address [the prison] population,' she said. 'And so it's so exciting for us to be a part of that and for the women that we work with to get to be a part of that. 'When you speak with the women we work with, almost all of them will talk about a lack of access to nature and lack of access to fulfilling activity when they're in prison. A lot of them don't realise it until they're with us, but when their hands are in soil, they feel calmer, more productive and happier.' • Ann Treneman: What I've learnt about gardens — 27 facts about plants 'Nature and growing is incredibly powerful. Gardening has the potential to help people have better lives, and that can cut reoffending.' Amy Dixon, governor of both HMP Downview and HMP East Sutton Park, said: 'The Glasshouse garden will make a massive impact for the women in custody at HMP & YOI [Young Offender Institution] Downview, and for our hardworking staff. 'Women preparing for release will have regular access to the garden for planning their future and meeting their resettlement team, as well as training and support. This special garden will provide inspiration and hope for women in an anxious and overwhelming time.'
