Overview

• Martin Bell attacked and dismembered taxi passenger Gemma Simpson in 2000 and was given a life sentence with a 12-year minimum at Leeds Crown Court in 2014 after pleading manslaughter due to schizophrenia.
• On June 26 the Parole Board panel, which reviewed reports from prison psychologists, a psychiatrist and a keyworker, recommended moving Bell from a Category C facility to open conditions.
• Simpson’s sisters, Krista Simpson and Naomi Carrack, have described feeling terrified by the recommendation and cited a court finding that Bell remains at high risk of reoffending.
• Bell becomes eligible for formal release review on July 12, 2026, but his transfer decision and potential pathway toward release now rest with Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
• The panel also considered a victim personal statement detailing the crime’s impact on Simpson’s family and noted Bell’s completion of all required behavioural interventions in custody.