Parole denied for rapist John Worboys who admits to 90 victims

John Worboys will remain in prison after his second parole refusal. The Parole Board confirmed on Thursday that a panel had refused his release and also denied a transfer to an open prison following a paper review. The panel was not satisfied that the serial sex attacker no longer poses a risk to the public.

Parole Board’s Reasoning

In a statement, a Parole Board spokesperson explained that decisions are “solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.” The panel examined a “huge range of evidence,” including details of the original crimes, any evidence of behaviour change, and the impact on victims. “Protecting the public is our No 1 priority,” the spokesperson added.

The panel’s conclusion that Worboys still presents an unacceptable risk means he will remain behind bars. Under current legislation, he will be eligible for a further review in due course, with the Ministry of Justice setting the date. A previous public hearing scheduled for June 2026 was cancelled after Worboys requested a paper review, which was granted.

Carrie Johnson’s Reaction

Carrie Johnson, wife of former prime minister Boris Johnson, who encountered Worboys as a student and testified against him, spoke of her relief at the decision. “It has been a hugely anxious wait knowing that Worboys was up for parole again,” she wrote on X. “The relief I feel knowing that he will remain behind bars is hard to put into words. Women and girls across Britain are safer as a result of this decision.” Johnson herself had a narrow escape, having accepted a drugged drink from Worboys.

Background and Previous Parole Attempts

Worboys, known as the “black cab rapist,” lured women into his taxi late at night by falsely claiming to have won money and offering them a celebratory drink that was drugged. He was first jailed in 2009 for 19 sexual offences against 12 victims between October 2006 and February 2008, receiving an indeterminate sentence for public protection with a minimum term of eight years. Police estimate he may have attacked more than 100 women, with some estimates suggesting up to 200 victims; he now admits attacking 90 women.

In December 2017, a Parole Board panel decided he was ready for release, sparking a legal challenge by two of his victims that successfully overturned the decision. The public outrage led to rule changes allowing some parole hearings to be held in public and enabling greater scrutiny of the process. Further victims came forward in the wake of the publicity, and Worboys was charged with additional crimes dating between 2000 and 2008, which he admitted. In 2019, he received two life sentences with a minimum term of six years. A probation report in August 2019 concluded he was “potentially just as dangerous now as the point of the first sentence.”

His case also exposed wider failings. In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that the Metropolitan Police owed human rights damages to two victims who had reported assaults in 2003 and 2007, as officers had failed to arrest or charge Worboys due to significant errors. The initial 2009 sentencing drew criticism for its perceived leniency given the scale of suspected offending.

Worboys changed his name in prison to John Radford. Before his taxi-driving career, he worked as a stripper under the pseudonym “Terry the Minder” and appeared in pornographic films.

The ITV Drama

The latest parole decision comes just days after the release of the ITV drama Believe Me, which recounts how young women joined forces to put Worboys behind bars and hold the Metropolitan Police to account. Daniel Mays, who portrays Worboys, said he “underestimated how much this psychologically affected me” and opted to receive on-set therapy after initially declining it. “I’m being asked to humanise a monster,” he said. “You have a responsibility to play them as three-dimensionally as you can.”