Philpott gets life for manslaughter of his six children

Mick Philpott has been jailed for life and must serve at least 15 years for the manslaughter of six children in Derby.

Child killer Philpott was told by a judge today that he was the “driving force” behind the deaths of six of his children in a house fire.

He and his wife Mairead, along with their friend Paul Mosley, were found guilty of manslaughter yesterday after a trial at Nottingham Crown Court.

As she prepared to sentence them, Mrs Justice Thirlwall said: “I have not the slightest doubt that you, Michael Philpott, were the driving force behind this shockingly dangerous enterprise.”

The Judge said Philpott used his conviction for attempting to murder a girlfriend in 1978 to terrify other women, adding: ``You have repeatedly used that conviction as a means of controlling other women, terrified as to what you would do to them.''

The judge said the plot to set fire to the house and rescue the children was ``a wicked and dangerous plan'', adding it was ``outside the comprehension of any right-thinking person''.