WREXHAM'S MP says he is still waiting for answers about circumstances surrounding the murder of a former Rossett wine bar owner.

MP Ian Lucas says a damning report about probation services backs up his long-held belief that the probation system is in crisis and needs overhauling.

Mr Lucas says he has had serious concerns about how offenders are managed since the 2017 murder of one of his constituents, Nicholas Churton, by a man who was on licence from prison at the time.

Now a report by the Chief Inspector of Probation, Dame Glenys Stacey, has said that the current model for the delivery of probation services in Wales and England – which sees privately-run community rehabilitation companies (CRCs) monitor offenders – is 'irredeemably flawed’.

Dame Glenys concluded that a major rethink is needed to create a system that is fit for the future, saying it would be ‘safer’ if the supervision of criminals was taken back into public ownership.

Mr Lucas said the report, published last Thursday, March 28, confirmed his worst fears about the present system, which was introduced in 2014 by Chris Grayling when he was Justice Secretary.

He also said he will continue to press for answers about the murder of Mr Churton. The former wine bar owner was killed by Jordan Davidson, who was arrested – and subsequently released – just days before the murder for possession of an offensive weapon.

“This report underlines what I have been saying for some time about the probation system in Wales and England – it is flawed and in the midst of a major crisis,” said Mr Lucas.

“In the case of Mr Churton, there is still no public report in writing about the circumstances around his murder. More than two years on from this terrible crime, we still do not know why Jordan Davidson was released from police custody when it seems clear he should have been sent back to prison.

“We have a crisis in our criminal justice system and this is deeply worrying.”

Davidson is now serving a minimum prison term of 30 years.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct has launched two investigations into the case, the first of which has led to two North Wales Police officers having to answer misconduct charges. The second IOPC investigation – into police contact with Davidson in the days prior to the murder – is still ongoing.

Mr Lucas led a Westminster Hall debate on probation in June last year when Home Office minister Victoria Atkins told him improvements were being made after ‘significant failings’ were identified in a review by the Wales CRC into Mr Churton’s murder. The full findings, however, have not been made public.

The MP for Wrexham also met justice minister Rory Stewart in December, when Mr Stewart accepted there had been ‘deficiencies’ in how the CRC had handled Davidson but said changes had been made to how information is shared between the police and the probation services. He has so far rejected calls by Mr Lucas for a fresh, over-arching independent inquiry into the case.