Head of the CPS admits failings over double-murderer Simon Levy
Simon Levy was jailed for the rest of his life after his spiral of offending escalated from sexual assaults on the Tube to double murder.
Prosecutors did not reveal that serial sex offender Simon Levy was under investigation for rape or murder when they attempted to get him remanded in custody, the head of the prosecution service has admitted to LBC.
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Highbury Magistrates Court twice rejected applications to refuse bail to the now 40-year-old when he was charged with offences on the London transport network last year.
It left him free to continue his spree of sexual assaults, and to kill a second woman, just weeks later.
On Wednesday, Levy was jailed for the rest of his life for killing grandmother Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo, 53, in March 2025 and mother-of-four Sheryl Wilkins, 39, in August that year, as his spiral of offending escalated from sexual assaults on the Tube to double murder.
In the wake of his sentencing, the fallout of the case descended into a public row between some of the most senior leaders in the criminal justice system, all seeking to defend their organisation’s role in the catalogue of blunders.
Read more: 'Monster' serial sex offender Simon Levy to die behind bars after double murder and rape conviction
Read more: How a string of failings allowed Simon Levy to stalk the streets and prey on women across London
Speaking to LBC, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Stephen Parkinson, admitted failings by his organisation and apologised to the families of Levy’s victims.
He said: "I think the principal one was that we didn't relay to the court the fact that Levy was under investigation for rape and murder.
"That was relevant information that the court should have had.
"Of course, we can't know if it would have made a difference in terms of the two bail hearings that took place, but I absolutely accept that the court should have had that information, and I'm very sorry indeed."
Earlier on Thursday, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “There’s no-one from the court service, no-one from CPS, no-one from probation stepping forward and talking about their failures.”
The Met “will always be publicly accountable, we’re the agency closest to the public”, he added.
Mr Parkinson told LBC: "The system is in crisis. I think that's fully understood.
"But I don't know whether it's possible to relate what happened in this case to the criminal justice system as a whole, and I would just like to come back to this particular case because there's been a certain amount of blame going around in the system.
"I don't think the public wants to hear different parts of the system taking shots at each other. I think what they want to know is that lessons have been learned and that action is being taken as a result of that."
At the Old Bailey on Wednesday, Levy was sentenced by Judge Mark Lucraft KC, the Recorder of London, to a whole life prison term, condemning him to spend the rest of his life in jail with no chance of ever being released.
“You are clearly someone who ruthlessly exploits others for your own personal sexual satisfaction,” said the judge.
Noting his disturbing internet history and collection of press cuttings about sexual crimes, he said Levy is “someone who appears to have a morbid fascination with sex, rape, and crime”.
Levy’s victims branded him a “monster” and a “parasite” as he faced the sentencing hearing.
At a trial which concluded last week, Levy was found guilty by a jury of two counts of murder, two counts of rape, grievous bodily harm with intent and the non-fatal smothering of the rape victim.
Levy was convicted earlier this year at Inner London Crown Court of 11 sexual assaults on London’s public transport network.