EXCLUSIVE: Convicted 'Essex Boys' killer Michael Steele finally released after 21-month parole case

Convicted 'Essex Boys' triple killer Michael Steele (top right) has finally been released from prison after a failed bid by the Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood to keep him behind bars.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson today confirmed the release happened this month.

She said: "Michael Steele was released from prison in May 2025.

“Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Craig Rolfe, Tony Tucker and Pat Tate. This decision was made by the independent Parole Board after a thorough risk assessment.

“Michael Steele will be on licence for the rest of his life, with strict conditions and intensive probation supervision. He faces an immediate return to prison if he breaks the rules.”

Supporters of the convicted murderer, who has always maintained his innocence, said they would now try to "prove conclusively" he was not guilty, pinning their hopes on an ongoing Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC) review of his conviction and that of co-defendant Jack Whomes (top left), who was released four years ago.

Steele's release comes three months after the Parole Board announced that the 82-year-old was fit to be freed after nearly 29 years in a category A jail.

This was despite him never admitting to the December 1995 murders of drug dealers Pat Tate, 37, Tony Tucker, 38, who acted as security for boxer Nigel Benn, and Craig Rolfe, 26, in what became known as the "Essex Boys" murders and the country's most notorious gangland hit.

The slayings, in a Range Rover, in a remote farm track at Rettendon, near Basildon, in Essex, spawned a series of gangster flicks including the 2000 film Essex Boys, which starred Sean Bean, and the Rise of the Footsoldier movies.

The Parole Board hearing that led to his release had begun in May 2023, but it was adjourned for "further evidence" several times over 21 months before the decision was eventually made.

Ms Mahmood then put his release on hold by making a reconsideration application, to try to prevent it, amid claims that the Parole Board’s decision was 'legally irrational.'

One of her key arguments was that the parole Board panel had given an "inappropriate weight" to the opinion of a psychologist, known only as Dr C, that it commissioned, who conflicted with the Prison Psychologist, Ms U, who did not recommend his release due to "problematic personality traits".

Dr C assessed Steele as posing a low risk of physical violence if he were in the community, arguing his personality traits were moderate and had been aggravated by time in high security prisons.

Ms Mahmood's application also accused Dr C of "an appearance of bias" as she said that she would "not be surprised if the CCRC found problems with Steele's conviction."

But, the Parole Board's Jeremy Roberts QC, who ruled on the reconsideration application last month<April>, said: "I do not think that those matters are evidence of bias or that they have any bearing on the reliability of Dr C’s expert evidence on the key issues in the case."

He added: "(Steele) has always denied any involvement in the murders. He says that the killing was organised by another criminal and a corrupt police officer."

Under a draconian restriction, Steele is banned from speaking to any media about his claims of innocence, which is part of his strict licence conditions.

He is also banned from contact with named individuals, with restrictions on his activities and residency, and exclusion conditions to avoid contact with victims.

He is also banned from owning a boat, airplane or firearm.

Steele and Whomes were convicted of the murders in 1998, but have always protested their innocence.

The victims were found dead by farmers in the vehicle on the snowy track at Rettendon on the morning of December 7 1995.

It is believed they were blasted with shotguns by Steele and Jack Whomes, 63, the night before in a row over a drugs deal.

The discovery of the gangster's bodies was less than three weeks after the death of Leah Betts, 18, who took an ecstasy pill from a bad batch believed to have been supplied by the three victims, sparking national outrage.

They were given life with a minimum term of 23 years after being found guilty at the Old Bailey.

Whomes was released in early 2021 and has given no media interviews to protest his innocence, also down to strict licence conditions which prevent this, according to supporters, although this was not written into his publicly released conditions as it has been with Steele.

Whomes and Steele have previously failed to overturn their convictions at the Court of Appeal and in 2023 the Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC) rejected an application from their lawyers to refer their convictions back to the Court of Appeal.

The current CCRC review was mounted after a team of former detectives submitted a dossier of evidence they claim casts doubt on the prosecutions.

It follows the submission of a dossier of evidence from the team of former Met Police murder detectives based at private eye firm TM Eye who spent about three years reviewing the case before becoming convinced Steele and Whomes were innocent.

Whomes and Steele were convicted largely on the evidence of supergrass Darren Nicholls, 59, who claimed to be their getaway driver and is now under witness protection.

He agreed to turn Queen's evidence after being arrested in May 1996 on suspicion of being involved in a cannabis importation.

Former Met Police DCI Dave McKelvey, who led the review for his private investigation firm TM Eye, was Nicholls' arresting officer and had been convinced of the pair's guilt before looking into the case.

TM Eye was not commissioned by the defence and was not instructed by them but was allowed access to case papers after expressing interest in the case.

Mr McKelvey said of Steele's release: "We are delighted that Michael Steele has been released after a very long struggle. Our mission is now to prove conclusively that he is innocent of the murders and this is one of the country's worst ever miscarriages of justice."

Mr McKelvey claims to have evidence that Nicholls was coached into what he said in the witness box and the case is mired in corruption, including details of a probe into a senior detective on the case being withheld as was his affair with one of the victim's girlfriends.

TM Eye's report also suggests several lines of enquiry into other possible killers were not pursued by Essex Police.

This includes the confession of Canning Town criminal Billy Jasper who gave a signed statement saying he was the getaway driver for a different named and lone killer after he was arrested on suspicion of an armed robbery.

His account was made to police in January 1996, about four months before Nicholls' version of events.

An Essex Police spokesperson said: "There has been an exhaustive police investigation into the murders of Pat Tate, Tony Tucker and Craig Rolfe in Rettendon on December 6, 1995, which resulted in the conviction of Michael Steele and Jack Whomes for their murder.

"Since then, this case has been back before the Court of Appeal twice, in 1999 and 2006.

"These appeals have included focus upon key evidential aspects of the case. Both appeals were rejected and in 2006 Lord Justice Kay commented that there was no “element of unsafety” relating to the original convictions of both defendants.

"This case has also been reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) who, as recently as January 2023, took the decision not to refer this case back to the Court of Appeal.

"We will of course always work with the CCRC and keep any new information under review."