A serial sex attacker who was dubbed the ‘Coronation Street rapist’ has launched a new bid for freedom.
Andrew Barlow, who has been handed 13 life sentences throughout his life for rape, was released from prison in March 2023 after 34 years behind bars.
Just six weeks later, however, the 67-year-old from Bolton was recalled to prison for poor behaviour and breaching his licence conditions.
He had been taken to a probation service hostel by a police escort upon his release but it was later deemed the risk he posed to the public was ‘not manageable in the community’.
Barlow, formerly known as Andrew Longmire, was given his nickname because most of his victims were attacked in their own terraced homes in the north of England, mostly in Greater Manchester.
Now there are fears he could soon be released from jail after he appealed against the decision which saw him return to his cell on June 19.
A decision over whether he will be allowed to walk free is set to be announced by Wednesday next week, the Parole Board confirmed.
The prospect of Barlow being allowed to roam free again has infuriated his many victims and their families who campaigned to keep him inside with the help of Manchester MP Graham Stringer.
‘He is an unsafe rapist who hasn’t changed in my eyes,’ the relative of one victim told Manchester Evening News, claiming he broke some of the 32 licence conditions he was given.
Barlow’s release from prison had been delayed by the then justice minister and deputy prime minister Dominic Raab after he asked the Parole Board to reconsider its decision.
Mr Raab said in January 2023: ‘My thoughts remain with the victims of Andrew Barlow, whose despicable crimes blighted the lives of dozens of women.
‘Public protection is my number one priority. I am overhauling the parole system to keep prisoners who pose a risk to the public off our streets.’
After Barlow was quickly returned to prison in April 2023, Mr Stringer said: ‘It is extraordinary. I think this is another failure of the Parole Board to use common sense and protect the public from a very dangerous man.
‘They were warned by me and the victims. This is institutional failure of the highest order.’
A relative of a woman Barlow raped in her own home in Greater Manchester in 1987 said in May last year: ‘I took it on the chin in January and decided to get on with my life when Barlow was released.
‘Now this animal is back in our lives again. We told the authorities and they didn’t listen. Someone has to be accountable for this.
‘It will mean all the victims and their families are reliving the agony again like we had to in January when we tried in vain to stop his release. We told the authorities he was too high a risk and we have been proven right.
‘I will like to sit down with someone from the Parole Board face to face and tell them what happened to our family because of Barlow – not submit an email like I had to in January.’
The daughter of a woman whose mother was raped in Greater Manchester by Barlow in the early 1980s said: ‘I was shocked when I heard that he was being recalled so soon.
‘But then when I thought about how evil and twisted he was when committing his crimes it doesn’t surprise me.
‘When the victim support officer told me I had goosebumps all over my body and then my eyes swelled up with tears, I was thinking who has he attacked this time?
‘The officer told me that he had not hurt anyone but that his behaviour had meant an immediate recall to prison. I am just pleased he has been monitored so closely as his behaviour, whatever it was, could have escalated.’
Barlow was handed 11 life sentences in 1988 for raping 11 women – and an additional 56 years for other offences.
He received two more life sentences – in 2010 and 2017 – after rapes he committed in 1981 and 1982 which were linked to him through advances in DNA technology.
As he had already surpassed his original 20-year tariff imposed in 1988, just another two years were added to his sentence in each case.
Two of the attacks took place in the street. He also struck in Cheshire, Staffordshire, Lancashire, and South Yorkshire in the early 1980s, and then again from August 1987 until January 1988 when he was arrested.
Barlow is barred from Greater Manchester and the Parole Board said in its summary to release him that he would be subject to licence conditions, which must be strictly adhered to.
Under the licence conditions, he would have to comply with requirements to reside at a designated address, be of good behaviour, disclose developing relationships, and report as required for supervision or other appointments.
In addition, he must submit to an enhanced form of supervision or monitoring including drug testing, signing-in times, GPS trail monitoring, polygraph testing and a specified curfew.
Barlow had to comply with other identified limitations concerning contacts, activities, residency and an exclusion zone to avoid contact with victims.
He also had to meet specified restrictions relating to the use of electronic technology and continue to work on addressing defined areas of risk in the community.
After Barlow’s recall last year, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: ‘Protecting the public is our number one priority.
‘That’s why offenders are subject to tough licence conditions and when they breach them, we do not hesitate to return them to custody.
‘Andrew Longmire is being returned to custody today following a breach of his licence conditions.
‘His re-release will be a matter for the Parole Board. He has not been charged with any offences.
‘Our Victims and Prisoners Bill includes plans to reform the parole process, including giving Ministers a power to veto the release of the most dangerous offenders, including murderers, rapists and terrorists.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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