Alan Charles Newlove, R (on the application of) v The Parole Board & Anor

Facts

Alan Newlove, formerly Alun Phillips, was convicted of the murder of his wife on 15 December 2000 and sentenced to life imprisonment; his appeal was dismissed in R v Phillips. After his minimum term expired, the Parole Board directed his release on 19 September 2017 subject to seventeen licence conditions, to which seven further conditions, including additional exclusion zones and two airports, were added days later. He complied for years and his assessed risk fell. In March 2024 a protected third party told his Community Offender Manager of past attempted contact and asked for further London exclusion zones; the Probation Service referred the request onwards to the Secretary of State and then the Parole Board, while itself recommending only updating changes and considering the existing conditions sufficient. His solicitors wrote on 26 July 2024 opposing the new conditions and seeking relaxation of existing ones, and asked for an oral hearing. No hearing was held, and on 4 November 2024 a duty member added further exclusion zones, apparently unaware of the full extent of those already in force. Permission to apply for judicial review was granted by Hill J. After the hearing Mr Newlove was recalled to prison, prompting argument on whether the claim had become academic.