Essex Boys murderer Michael Steele to be released

A man convicted of the so-called Essex Boys murders will be released from prison on licence, the Parole Board has said.

Michael Steele was given a life sentence in 1998 after drug dealers Craig Rolfe, Tony Tucker and Pat Tate were found shot dead in a Range Rover near Chelmsford three years earlier.

The 82-year-old has repeatedly denied perpetrating the murders.

The Parole Board said that following "progress made while in custody" and other evidence presented at the hearings, the panel was satisfied imprisonment was "no longer necessary for the protection of the public".

Jack Whomes, who previously lived in Brockford, near Stowmarket, Suffolk, was also given a life sentence for the murders, but his prison term was reduced in 2018 and he was released in 2021.

The case soon became referred to as the Essex Boys murders, and became the subject of countless TV dramas, films, documentaries and books, which examined its links to other high profile homicides and the 1990s rave scene.

The Parole Board said it examined Steele's application at hearings in May 2023, May, November and December last year, and also in January.

It said a representative for the Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, was "party to the proceedings".

"After considering the circumstances of his offending, the progress made while in custody and the other evidence presented at the hearings, the panel was satisfied that imprisonment was no longer necessary for the protection of the public," the Parole Board said.

Steele's trial in 1998 heard how the three victims were ambushed in a row about drugs on 6 December 1995.

Then aged 55, he was found guilty of murder as well as conspiring to import drugs into the UK.

His minimum prison term was set at 23 years, which expired in 2019, but the Parole Board had been worried about his risk of reoffending.

In its report published earlier, the Parole Board said: "Mr Steele had offended for financial gain and out of greed.

"He had sought to maintain a level of status or respect from others by exerting power.

"There had also been an element of thrill-seeking in his actions."

The report added his behaviour in prison, however, had shown "marked improvement" and a psychologist commissioned by his legal team told the panel the risk levels of release were "minimal".

Steele, who previously lived in Great Bentley, near Colchester in Essex, must surrender his passport and cannot own a boat, airplane or firearm as part of his licence conditions.

He must also reside at a designated address and could be subject to electronic tagging and a curfew.

Lawyers for both Steele and Whomes tried to overturn their convictions at the Court of Appeal in 2006, 2013 and 2016.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission - an independent body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice - decided in January 2023 not to refer another appeal to the courts.

A Sky Documentaries series in 2023 interviewed detectives involved with the 1995 case who were critical of the police investigation.

Former Met Police detective David McKelvey claimed "credible lines of investigation were not followed" and claimed the assassination was related to an armed robbery, not drug dealing.

Essex Police previously said the case was "exhaustively examined" and there was no fresh evidence to dispute the original verdicts.