Overview

• On June 30 the Independent Parole Board approved Simpson’s early release under a two-year licence featuring GPS monitoring, regular drug tests and required disclosures of any new relationships.
• Simpson first walked free in February 2023 and was returned to custody in May 2024 after breaching licence terms by entering a relationship with a registered sex offender.
• Paula Hudgell described the decision as unfair given her son’s lifelong injuries and intensified her campaign for a national child cruelty register to track convicted abusers.
• Tony Hudgell, now ten, remains a double amputee who raised about £1.8 million for hospital charities and earned a British Empire Medal for his fundraising during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Advocates argue that mandatory lifelong monitoring of child abusers is needed to prevent future harm and to strengthen protections beyond existing parole supervision.