The release of a murderer who has refused to reveal where he hid his wife's body makes a 'mockery' of Helen's Law, it was claimed on Friday.
Glyn Razzell was jailed for life for killing the mother of his four children, Linda, 41, who vanished on her way to work in Swindon, Wiltshire, in 2002.
He has repeatedly refused to say where her remains are, ignoring pleas from their children who have been denied the chance to hold a funeral for their mother.
Now the 64-year-old ex-banker is set to go free despite Helen's Law, which is intended to block offenders who withhold such information from getting parole.
'We thought that the legislation sealed it, so he wouldn't go free. This feels like they've just ripped up Helen's Law,' said Greg Worrall, who was Linda's fiance at the time of her disappearance. 'Letting him free now will remove any incentive of him ever revealing where she is.... Helen's Law was the only deterrent.'
A spokesman for the Parole Board confirmed it has directed Razzell's release following a decision which 'solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released'.
It acknowledged the victim's family had argued the move should be blocked by Helen's Law but concluded Razzell's continued assertions that he did not know where the body was because he did not commit the crime 'cannot be a bar to release'.
'It makes a mockery of Helen's law,' said Cathy Larkman of Women's Rights Network. 'This seems a cruel decision which values the freedom of a murderer over and above the recovery of a murdered woman.'
Linda Razzell disappeared on the way to work at Swindon College in March 2002 - her body has never been found
Her estranged husband Glyn Razzell was found guilty of murdering her in 2003 and sentenced to life in prison
Razzell was sentenced to life with a minimum of 16 years in 2003. He was convicted after forensic evidence showed traces of her blood in the boot and footwell of a car he had being using.
The couple had been going through an acrimonious divorce and Linda was engaged to Mr Worrall, whom she planned to marry once proceedings were over.
Since his sentence expired in 2019, Razzell has been denied parole three times - including in 2021 when he became the first prisoner to be denied release under Helen's Law.
Mr Worrall, 65, said he has already submitted an appeal against the ruling. The Ministry of Justice has confirmed that it will consider challenging the board's ruling on Razzell.
Helen's Law was brought into statute in 2021 by the campaigning of Marie McCourt, mother of Helen McCourt who was murdered in 1988 but whose killer did not reveal her body's location.