Widow slams probation service

Pc Walker was a Nottinghamshire dog handler

The widow of a policeman killed by a drug addict who was on licence says the probation service must share the blame for her husband's death.

A Home Office report on Thursday said probation officers should have taken action after David Parfitt, 26, failed drug tests.

Parfitt was jailed for 13 years last December for the manslaughter of Nottinghamshire Pc Ged Walker.

"We will never forgive Parfitt for what he did, never," said Mrs Walker.

She accused the service of "accommodating his drug taking" which "allowed him to kill Ged."

A report by HM Inspector of Probation, Professor Rod Morgan, said the probation officer handling Parfitt's case "wrongly decided" many of his excuses for failing drugs tests were acceptable.

Drug addicts are the people most responsible for making people victims of crime, yet they are given chance after chance Tracy Walker Pc's killer failed drug tests

Mrs Walker said: "For professional people to give a drug addict like Parfitt the benefit of the doubt is inexcusable.

"I feel very angry and let down, because to accept some of the excuses that were given showed incredible naivety."

Mrs Walker had personally asked Prime Minister Tony Blair to order an inquiry into his death.

"On one occasion his probation officer said it was fine for him to miss a drug test because he was ill from all the heroin he had smoked that weekend," she said.

Probation apology

"Drug addicts are the people most responsible for making people victims of crime, yet they are given chance after chance.

"All along, the probation service hoped that I would disappear and give up with my complaint, but I owed it to Ged to make sure the circumstances were investigated," Mrs Walker added.

"My husband was a wonderful father and we will never get him back, but we can only hope this inquiry will help stop any other potential David Parfitt."

David Hancock, chief officer of Nottinghamshire Probation Area, who apologised to Mrs Walker, admitted the probation officer had failed to properly carry out her duties.

But he said she is not being disciplined because the report identified that she had the burden of a "heavy workload".

He also stressed that dealing with a wealth of Home Office initiatives had placed an additional strain on his staff.

"Like other justice agencies in Nottinghamshire, we are a small office dealing with a huge amount of crime," said Mr Hancock.

"I have made representations to the Home Office to inform them of our situation and continually do."