THE MINISTRY of Justice has apologised to the mother of a Wiltshire murder victim who was not told that the man who killed their daughter had been recalled to prison on licence.

Crazed labourer Barry Wilcox murdered Malmesbury supermarket worker Samantha Walker in 1994.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1995 but was released on licence after serving 19 years inside. He was recalled to prison earlier this year after he was charged with sending vile messages over social media to what he thought were 13 and 14-year-old girls. He was jailed last week for the crime.

Samantha's mother, Pat, was not told of Wilcox's recall by the probation service, as is normal procedure. She told the Adver: “He should never have been let out."

A government spokesman said: “This is a distressing case and we regret that the family of Samantha Walker found out about Wilcox’s return to custody through the media. We apologise for the pain that this has caused, and have now made sure that her family will receive all further updates.”