'Essex Boys' killer Michael Steele to be released from prison 27 years after triple gangland murders
13 February 2025, 16:48
A man convicted of the "Essex Boys" gangland murders can be released from prison, the Parole Board has said.
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Michael Steele was jailed for life in 1998 for the killings of Tony Tucker, Pat Tate and Craig Rolfe, which he denied, alongside co-defendant Jack Whomes.
The three men were found shot dead in a Range Rover in Rettendon, near Chelmsford, Essex, in 1995.
The killings took place after a row over a drug deal, prosecutors said, and the case later inspired the 2000 film Essex Boys starring Sean Bean.
A Parole Board panel decided to free Steele, now in his 80s, as his imprisonment was "no longer necessary for the protection of the public".
He must comply with strict licence conditions including to live at a designated address, be of good behaviour, provide financial and business details, give up his passport, be subject to electronic tagging and a specified curfew.
A Parole Board spokesman said: "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."
In a decision summary published on Thursday, it said his behaviour in prison had shown "marked improvement" and none of the witnesses considered risks would be imminent if he was released into the community.
The Parole Board decided Whomes, then aged 59, could be released in 2021.
