Mick Philpott was yesterday jailed for life for being the "driving force" behind a plot to set fire to a home in the city of Derby which led to the deaths of six of his children, with the trial judge describing him as a disturbingly dangerous man with no moral compass.
Ms Justice Thirlwall said Philpott (56) should serve a minimum of 15 years after a jury at Nottingham crown court convicted him on six counts of manslaughter for plotting the fire, which he and two others started in May 2012.
Philpott's wife, Mairead, and friend Paul Mosley were both jailed for 17 years for helping the plot. They will not be eligible for release until they have served at least half their sentences.
The judge said the plot to set fire to the house and rescue the children was a “wicked and dangerous plan”, adding that it was “outside the comprehension of any right-thinking person”.
She said Philpott, a father of 17 children, aimed to frame a former partner who had dared to leave him. The court heard of his long history of violence and control of women, whom he regarded as his “chattels”.
The judge said he used his conviction for attempting to murder a girlfriend in 1978 to terrify other women.
The case, which the judge said was unique, has angered the public. As the trio were sentenced there were shouts from the public gallery of “Die, Mick, die”. Philpott made an obscene gesture as he was led away.
Whether he was ever released, the judge added, was a matter for the parole board.
In her sentencing remarks Ms Justice Thirlwall said Philpott had been living with his wife and another woman, Lisa Willis, at the local authority house in Derby. Willis took her children and left Philpott, who became obsessed with her.
“You could not stand the fact that she had crossed you,” the judgel said. “You were determined to make sure that she came back and you began to put together your plan.”
She then detailed Philpott's history of violence against women, starting with his attempted murder of a partner who left him, whom he stabbed 13 times.
On his release from prison Philpott continued to abuse, control and beat women.
He beat his first wife, with whom he had three children, before leaving her in his 40s for a 16-year-old whom he controlled “through physical and sexual violence, threats and emotional abuse”.
Ms Justice Thirlwall added: “She, like the two women before her, speaks of the lifelong damage she has suffered as a result of her relationship with you.”
Philpott then met and married Mairead, who was from a troubled background and viewed him as her “guardian angel”. She not only allowed Philpott to have a relationship with Willis, but allowed her to live in the house.
“You controlled and manipulated those women . . . they ran the household and looked after all the children. They went out to work. Their wages and their benefits went into your account, you controlled how money was spent . . .
“I accept that the level of physical violence had reduced in recent years, but the level of control, aggression and fear most certainly did not.
“Women were your chattels, there to look after you and your children (for that is how you describe them all). You bark orders and they obey. Witness after witness described the dynamics in your household. You were kingpin, no one else mattered.”
The judge said Philpott hatched a plot to frame Willis for an arson attack on the family home on the eve of a child custody hearing. It was a wicked and dangerous plan, she said.
“And you put it into effect with the assistance of your two co-defendants. You poured petrol on the floor. Paul Mosley was responsible for removing the containers from your home. You set light to it. After a short while Mairead Philpott spoke to the emergency services.
“It became clear there was no chance of a successful rescue and the children perished. Mercifully their deaths were swift and, it would seem, without pain.” The children were Jayden (five), Jade (10), John (nine), Jack (eight), Jesse (six) and Duwayne (13).
Sending him to prison for life, Ms Justice Thirlwall said: “You are a disturbingly dangerous man. Your guiding principle is what Mick Philpott wants he gets. You have no moral compass.
"I have no hesitation in concluding that these six offences are so serious and the danger you pose is so great that the only proper sentence is one of life imprisonment and that is the sentence I impose upon you." – ( Guardian service)