The Philpott Sentencing.

After delaying her decision for 24 hours in order to allow public anger to dissipate Judge Mrs Justice Thirlwall today passed sentence on Micheal "Mick" Philpott, Mairead Philpott and Paul Mosely following their conviction on Tuesday (2/4/13) for the manslaughter of 6 of the Philpott children in an arson attack on the Philpott family home in May 2012.

Under UK law there is no maximum sentence that can be passed for manslaughter. Therefore all three could have been sentenced to whole life terms. Basically this means they would have died in prison. However Mrs Justice Thirlwall seems to have shown exceptional leniency. Both Mairead Philpott and Paul Mosley were sentenced to 17 years in prison each. However given current sentencing guidelines this means they will both be eligible for parole in just 8.5 years. Despite appearances Mairead Philpott is apparently only 32 years old.

Mrs Justice Thirlwall was keen to be seen to be taking a much tougher line on Micheal Philpott who has a string of previous convictions including for attempted murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. However in decision that is presumably going to be reviewed follow an appeal by the prosecution Mrs Justice Thirlwall set an incredibly lenient minimum term of 15 years so Micheal Philpott will be eligible for release in 2028.

In her sentencing remarks which focused on Micheal Philpott Mrs Justice Thirlwall described him as the driving force behind the crime. This is a clear reference to the al-Houla massacre in Syria. Mr Philpott bears more then a passing resemblance to John McAleese an SAS trooper who took part in the famous 1980 Iranian Embassy in London siege.

Therefore Mrs Justice Thirlwall's sentencing remarks are intended to be taken as the UK admitting that it's special forces/intelligence services were the driving force behind the al-Houla massacre and similar events in the Syrian conflict. However the sentencing itself is intended to be seen as the UK showing no remorse for it's actions.

12:30 on 4/4/13.