The Home Secretary has vowed to ‘strain every sinew’ to catch speedboat killer Jack Shepherd – as it was revealed police had failed to act on tips he had fled to Georgia.
Sajid Javid declared his ‘personal interest’ after meeting the family of victim Charlotte Brown yesterday and said he was determined to ensure the fugitive faces justice.
Miss Brown’s father Graham said the Home Secretary had given him assurances that police were doing everything possible to find cowardly Shepherd’s bolthole.
But it has emerged Scotland Yard were tipped off more than six months ago that the killer had fled to Georgia yet did nothing.
Police in the former Soviet republic said they had invited their British counterparts to belatedly join the hunt for Shepherd, who is believed to have entered the country last March, but so far the offer hasn’t been taken up.
The Home Secretary has vowed to ‘strain every sinew’ to catch speedboat killer Jack Shepherd after meeting victim Charlotte Brown’s family. Pictured: Charlotte (centre) with sisters Katie (left) and Vicky (right)
Police in Georgia said they had invited Scotland Yard to join the hunt for Shepherd, who is believed to have entered the country last March, but so far the offer hasn’t been taken up.Pictured: Jack Shepherd leaving court with his lawyer
Authorities said they had not even been asked to look for Shepherd until last week, when the Metropolitan Police made a request through Interpol.
Sources in the capital Tblisi confirmed there are records of Shepherd being in the country and no sign of him having left.
Shepherd, 31, whose boat flipped on the Thames as he drunkenly tried to impress Miss Brown on their first date, has made a mockery of justice by taking public money to fund an appeal against his six-year prison sentence while on the run.
Last night Mr Javid said: ‘Charlotte’s family are understandably heartbroken and distraught following this awful tragedy.
‘I have taken a personal interest in this case and am determined to ensure Jack Shepherd faces justice.
‘I told the family we will strain every sinew and explore every option to bring them the justice they deserve as soon as possible.
‘What is clear is that Charlotte’s family have suffered enough. That is why I am repeating my plea for Mr Shepherd to give himself up.’
Earlier this month, the Daily Mail offered a £25,000 reward to bring Shepherd to justice.
Since then, police have stepped up their efforts, yet have said the tech-savvy web designer could be anywhere in the world.
Speaking after meeting Mr Javid in the House of Commons yesterday, Miss Brown’s father said: ‘We miss Charlotte every day. The lapse of time does not temper the pain and rawness of our loss, or diminish our utter determination to see that the man responsible for her death is held to account.’
Mr Javid said: ‘Charlotte’s family are understandably heartbroken and distraught following this awful tragedy. I have taken a personal interest in this case and am determined to ensure Jack Shepherd faces justice.’ Pictured: James Brokenshire, Sajid Javid, Roz Wickens (Charlotte’s mother), Katie (Charlotte’s sister) and Graham Brown (her father)
Flanked by Miss Brown’s mother Roz Wickens, 53, and sister Katie, Mr Brown, 55, of Sidcup, Kent, said: ‘The Home Secretary has underlined his personal commitment to see that the current manhunt is given the necessary resources and priority required.
‘Our message is clear – there can be no hiding place for Jack Shepherd. No one should give support, assistance or encouragement to him other than to do what he should have done in the first place, which is to hand himself in.’
Civil servant Mr Brown vowed: ‘The family will not rest until justice is done and Shepherd is held to account for the loss of our beautiful daughter.’
In July Shepherd, of Exeter, was convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence in his absence over the death of Miss Brown in December 2015, who he took on a date while engaged to his now wife.
He has yet to serve a single day of his six-year term, but has received almost £100,000 in legal aid and is communicating with his legal team from his hideaway as they prepare his appeal.
A Mail investigation has pieced together how he fled the UK in March after being arrested for an alleged hotel assault while on bail awaiting the speedboat trial.
He flew to Turkey and from there to Georgia, arriving in Tblisi on March 21. Shepherd’s wife told detectives he had gone to Georgia, but blunders meant British police only made the request for help there on Monday last week.
Records show his UK passport has not been used since. Police in Tblisi have promised that ‘everything is being done’ to chase down leads on the killer.
Insiders in the Georgian Interior Ministry said an invitation had been extended to Scotland Yard to join the manhunt but, so far, there has been no response.
Eka Soselia, the ministry’s head of communications, said: ‘If the Metropolitan Police decides to join us in the investigation we are more than happy to host them in Georgia. We cannot predict the length of the investigation. However, I can assure you everything is being done to find this person.’
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: ‘We continue to work closely with the Crown Prosecution Service, National Crime Agency and other agencies such as Interpol to track and trace Shepherd wherever he may be.’