Robert Sabat, 59, is due to be sentenced for murder.
Dickiesa Nurse was stabbed to death at her home in McCormick House, Tulse Hill (Image: Google Street View)
A prisoner who was freed early under Labour’s release scheme went on to stab a mum to death. Robert Sabat, 59, is due to be sentenced for murder on Wednesday (October 7) after Dickiesa Nurse, 42, was stabbed at her home in McCormick House, Tulse Hill, London, on October 27 last year. Sabat had previously been in prison for harassment and knife offences, but was let out early under a previous round of Government releases.
He was sentenced at Kingston upon Thames Crown Court to 12 months in prison in May last year for possession of a knife and harassment without violence. Sabat was released under the Government scheme by October.
At the Old Bailey on September 17, Sabat pleaded guilty to murder, according to The Sun. His case raises serious questions about the safeguards ministers have in place to protect the public from offenders released early.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Dickiesa Nurse who have suffered immeasurably. This was a horrific crime and it is right that this offender faces the full force of the law. The Probation Service has been carrying out a thorough investigation to see what happened in this case.
“We are determined to always have the prison places needed to keep dangerous offenders locked up. That is why we’re building thousands more prison places and tagging offenders at record levels to track and manage those in the community.”
A Government source said fewer than 0.5% of those under Probation Service supervision go on to commit serious further offences, which they acknowledged have a “devastating” impact.
In February, a GoFundMe page was set up to help pay for Ms Nurse’s funeral, in which her loved ones described the mum-of-two as a “joyful soul” whose presence brought “light, laughter and love”. The family added: “Our sister Kiesha’s absence has left a space in our lives that can never be filled.”
Sabat pleaded guilty to murder at the Old Bailey (Image: Getty)
Under the latest tranche of releases, almost 5,000 prisoners are set to be freed in stages over the next year as the Government tries to ease prison overcrowding. The latest wave began last week when lags thanked Prime Minister Andy Burnham as they celebrated walking free from jail early.
One prisoner said to the press as he left HMP Durham in the North East of England: “Justice system, what justice system? Thank you Andy Burnham.” An inmate released from HMP Cardiff after being jailed for burglary admitted he will “probably be back in the next month or two”.
On Sunday, Justice Secretary Alex Norris was unable to say how many prisoners freed early from jail have been tagged. Officials said there was a presumption that all criminals released early would be fitted with GPS tags, but Mr Norris said it was “too soon” to have the numbers.
Asked how many of those released so far had been tagged, Mr Norris told the BBC on Sunday: “I don’t have that figure today, it only happened on Thursday. You know, there can be a bit of a lag. We don’t have that number. But you know, we’re very candid about who’s leaving prison and when they do.”
Ministers intervened to exclude rapists and the most serious child sex offenders from early release amid criticism of the policy over the summer. The rules will also not apply to those guilty of manslaughter, such as the killers of Pc Andrew Harper, who died in the line of duty in 2019.
Migrant dinghy found within 2 miles off Dover in fresh Channel security scare
EXCLUSIVE: Boat somehow reached British waters unescorted and continued towards the Kent coast before finally being intercepted
32 migrants were found off the coast of DOver (Image: Getty)
More than 30 migrants made it to within two miles of Dover in a fresh security scare for immigration chiefs. Two Border Security Command vessels and an RNLI lifeboat scrambled to a dinghy just two miles off the coast of Dover.
It somehow reached British waters unescorted and continued towards the Kent coast before finally being intercepted. Some 32 migrants were found on board after crossing through fog. The revelations emerged as Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp declared that deporting illegal migrants immediately is the “only way” to protect communities like Piddington from the asylum crisis.
The senior Tory insisted small boat arrivals must be booted out “within a week of arrival”. And he vowed to dismantle the legal architecture used by failed asylum seekers, foreign criminals and visa overstayers to repeatedly fight attempts to remove them.
Mr Philp told Tory members: “The consequence of illegal entry will be immediate removal. Because if illegal immigrants know they will quickly be deported they won’t come in the first place.”
The Tory borders chief pointed to Home Office plans to dump 1,256 asylum seekers next to the picturesque Oxfordshire village of Piddington, which is home to around 350 people.
And he said the horrific murder of Rhiannon Whyte illustrates why ministers must end the small boats crisis.
Sudanese asylum seeker Deng Majek stabbed mother-of-one Rhiannon 23 times in a frenzied 90-second attack after following the 27-year-old from his asylum hotel to Bescot Road railway station in Walsall in 2024.
Majek was later seen dancing and joking in the hotel car park. The Sudanese monster had arrived on a small boat about three months before the attack.
And Mr Philp said: “The truth is we cannot have strong borders while in the ECHR. Successive governments have tried, and it hasn’t worked.
“So, the next Conservative government will leave the ECHR.
“That way we can deport illegal immigrants within a week of arrival. No asylum claims. No human rights claims. Just detention followed by rapid deportation back to the county of origin or to a safe third country.
“It worked in Australia 13 years ago and it will work here today.
“Tough? Yes. But here’s the truth: it’s the only thing that will work to protect places like Piddington, to protect young women like Rhiannon and to protect our borders. And we will do it.”
Mr Philp vowed on Wednesday to “immediately” close Labour’s new safe and legal routes while “illegal migration is rife”.
The Shadow Home Secretary accused Shabana Mahmood of “opening our borders even more” by re-establishing the UK Resettlement Scheme and creating three new community sponsorship routes.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp addresses Tory members (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster / Daily Express)
Under a Conservative government, illegal migration will have to fall to nearly zero before similar schemes are considered.
Thousands of migrants are expected to arrive under Labour’s new schemes every year once they are fully up and running.
Charities, faith groups and businesses will be able to apply to host people from next year. And Mr Philp warned “those coming will have the right to bring in their whole extended families too”.
He said: “Labour now also wants to bring more people here directly from Afghanistan and Gaza – where the October 7th massacre was openly celebrated on the streets. Those coming will have the right to bring in their whole extended families too.
“While illegal migration is rife, the government should not be opening our borders even more – and we would close this scheme down immediately.”
More than 20,000 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year – including 1,000 in just two days.
Some 418 people were packed into five dinghies on Sunday, while 609 asylum seekers were detected in 8 vessels on Monday.
And Mr Philp warned the small boats emergency has created a “public safety crisis… especially for women and girls”.
He told the Conservative Party Conference: “Girls as young as 12 have been raped by illegal small boat migrants.
“Afghan men are 22 times more likely to commit sex offences than average – one even recently brought a 14-year old-girl he was abusing to the UK on a small boat.
“This is not just a borders crisis – it is a public safety crisis … especially for women and girls. And we must end it.
“What is Andy Burnham’s answer? Not deportation. Distribution. He thinks every town and village should have its own share of illegal immigrants.”
The senior Tory slammed “many on the left” for throwing Britain’s borders open.
He said: “Without strong borders we are no country at all.
“Many on the left think that we should let in anyone who wants to come. That every person with a claim to sympathy should be accommodated. They think only of the supposed rights of illegal immigrants. Or prioritise the rights of foreign criminals to stay here.
“We can’t keep on like this. It isn’t fair to the British people. The cost – financial and social – is simply too high.
“Borders matter. Control matters. Numbers matter.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We have made progress tackling the small boats. Crossings are down significantly, and we have just recorded the lowest number of summer arrivals since 2020.
“We are taking action, with joint efforts preventing over 48,000 crossing attempts and seizing 1,100 boats and engines since the election.
“But we must go further, which is why we are boosting the number of officers on the ground in France and removing the pull factors drawing people here through illegal and dangerous routes.”
