Libby Squire’s killer agrees to meet her mother – as new footage shows him laughing during his arrest
The mother of murdered student Libby Squire has revealed that the “sexual predator” who raped and killed the 21-year-old has agreed to meet her.
Lisa Squire told Sky News she is determined to find out what exactly happened to her daughter after she was abducted by Pawel Relowicz – and hopes to get answers by speaking to him.
The Polish butcher was jailed for 27 years for raping and murdering Libby, who disappeared during a night out in Hull in January 2019. Her body was found seven weeks later in the Humber Estuary.
Relowicz, now 28, denied killing Libby and pathologists were unable to determine a cause of death because of the amount of time her body had been in the water.
Mrs Squire said she was in the process of arranging a meeting with Relowicz through a restorative justice charity, adding that it was “quite a brave thing” for him to do.
“A lot of people don’t understand this – I don’t hate him,” she told Sky News.
“I’m not angry with him. I just want information from him.
“I don’t wish to forgive him. I don’t wish to understand why he did what he did.
“For me, it’s very much about finding out how she was in those last 20 minutes of her life.”
Lisa Squire and her daughter Libby
Libby’s killer sets conditions for meeting
Mrs Squire said a date has not yet been set for the meeting and Relowicz has outlined certain conditions that are still to be resolved.
She said: “We’ve got to the stage where he’s agreed to see me but has changed some of the parameters.
“For me, it’s really important to find out how she died. I need to know that.
“Will I believe him if he tells me? I don’t know.
“There are lots of questions I want to ask.”
Mrs Squire said Relowicz, who was found guilty of Libby’s rape and murder following a trial last year, still denies the crimes.
On the conditions he has set for their meeting, she added: “As far as I’m aware, he doesn’t want to talk about what happened that night, which is the only reason I want to see him.
“We have to come up with some sort of arrangement, between him and I, as to what we’re going to talk about.
“It’s actually quite a brave thing for him to do. Prisoners don’t get any reward for seeing the victim’s family.
“To agree to see me in the first place is a big thing. And I am grateful.
“I certainly don’t want him as my best friend, but I don’t hate him.
“He holds the key to questions I have.”
Pawel Relowicz (R) appeared to laugh after being told of his arrest for Libby’s rape and murder. Pic: Libby, Are You Home Yet? Sky and Candour Productions
Fears Relowicz could kill again
Libby’s murder is explored in a new Sky Crime documentary – called Libby, Are You Home Yet? – which features previously unreleased footage of Relowicz laughing as he is told he is being arrested for Libby’s rape and murder.
The three-part programme considers whether Relowicz, a father of two who lived with his wife and children in Hull, could have been stopped earlier by police after he committed a string of offences – including voyeurism, outraging public decency and burglary – in the months before Libby was killed.
Relowicz had been carrying out a campaign of chilling, sexually motivated crimes in the student area of Hull – peering through windows to watch young women, breaking into their homes to steal intimate items, and masturbating in the street.
In the hours after raping and killing Libby, he returned home and watched pornography before going out again in an apparent search for another victim.
Mrs Squire – who describes Relowicz in the documentary as a “sexual predator” whose crimes were “stomach churning” – told Sky News she fears he will kill again if he is released at the end of his 27-year sentence.
“There is not a question of doubt in my mind that if he only gets to serve 27 years, he will come out and do it again, because he will only be in his early 50s,” she said.
Police uncovered drone footage Relowicz recorded of himself. Pic: Libby, Are You Home Yet? Sky and Candour Productions
“He shows no remorse now and I don’t believe in 20 years’ time he’ll show any remorse.
“He will come out and do it again. I’m absolutely convinced of it.
“For such a young man to do such horrendous things, even putting Libby’s rape and murder to one side, the things he was doing were just so abnormal for all men.
“He is an incredibly dangerous individual.
“Whilst I’ve got breath in my body, I will ensure that man never comes out of prison – ever.”
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Libby Squire’s mother: ‘Verdict changes nothing’
Libby’s killer ‘should have same sentence as Wayne Couzens’
Mrs Squire believes her daughter’s killer should have received a whole life prison sentence – like the one given to police officer Wayne Couzens, who abducted, raped and murdered Sarah Everard.
She has argued that whole life tariffs should be the automatic sentence for anyone convicted of murder, but says when she put this to Boris Johnson during a meeting earlier this year, the then prime minister told her: “There aren’t the prison spaces.”
In response to that, Mrs Squire said: “Well then build more prisons, it’s a simple as that.
“Anyone who goes out and takes a life should be given a whole life tariff, end of.
“In 27 years, Libby doesn’t come back. I don’t get my daughter back. My children don’t get to have their sister back.
“We have a whole life sentence to live.
“This was a choice. [Relowicz] chose to do this. I didn’t have any choice in this and yet it seems to me that we are punished more than they are.
“The Wayne Couzens and Relowicz sentences should be the same.”
‘If one of you had gone home with her, she would still be alive today’
In the documentary, friends of Libby, who were with her on the night she disappeared, reveal they were blamed by some people for not travelling home with her after she was refused entry to the club.
One friend, Amelia, says she was in a taxi when the driver turned around and said it was her fault that Libby had gone missing.
Mrs Squire told Sky News that only Relowicz was to blame for her daughter’s death but admitted she went through a phase where she thought: “Without question, if one of you had gone home with her, she would still be alive today.”
“That is the truth. There is no getting away from that fact,” Mrs Squire said.
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Libby Squire’s final moments
“But they didn’t do any of this deliberately. They didn’t know what was going to happen.
“Those poor people who were with her that night have got to live with this for the rest of their lives.
“They have a whole different life because of what that man did to our daughter.
“I never blamed them… there’s only one person to blame for Libby’s death.”
Mrs Squire says she now tells Libby’s three siblings when they go out: “Be aware of your surroundings, be aware of who you are, and never leave your mates – if you go out as a two, you come home as a two.”
Libby was strangled or asphyxiated, mother believes
On the night Libby was killed, Mrs Squire believes her daughter had gone for a walk to calm down because she was angry about being refused entry to the club.
She also believes Relowicz either persuaded her daughter to get into his car “under false pretences” or that he “put her” in the vehicle.
“I believe there’s only two possibilities of how she died – asphyxiation or strangulation,” she said.
“I would like to know because it’s a massive thing. It’s very hard to not know how your child has died.
“I would like for him to tell me but I don’t think he ever will.”
‘I miss her beyond belief’
Mrs Squire said her husband Russ declined to feature in the documentary as Libby’s death remains “incredibly raw for him” and he does not want to meet Relowicz.
“Not being able to see her and speak to her every day, it is torture,” Mrs Squire said of her daughter.
“It goes without saying I miss her beyond belief. I still get really tearful when I think about it.
“I’m incredibly proud of her. She’s making such a difference to people even now.
“I miss her. I miss her so much and it’s really hard. Some days I struggle to get out of bed to carry on a day without her.
“I know if I gave in and laid in bed, she would be saying: ‘For goodness’ sake, get up. You can’t be laying in bed all day’.
“Everything I do, I do to honour her and make my other children proud.”
Libby, Are You Home Yet? is available from 27 October on Sky Crime at 9pm and streaming service Now
Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield has resigned from the Labour Party.
The 53-year-old MP is the first to jump ship since the general election and in her resignation letter criticised the prime minister for accepting thousands of pounds worth of gifts.
She told Sir Keir Starmer the reason for leaving now is “the programme of policies you seem determined to stick to”, despite their unpopularity with the electorate and MPs.
In her letter she accused the prime minister and his top team of “sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice” which are “off the scale”.
“I’m so ashamed of what you and your inner circle have done to tarnish and humiliate our once proud party,” she said.
Rosie Duffield. Pic: UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via Reuters
Sir Keir has faced backlash after a Sky News report revealed he had received substantially more freebies than any other MP since becoming Labour leader.
Since December 2019, the prime minister received £107,145 in gifts, benefits, and hospitality – a specific category in parliament’s register of MPs’ interests.
Ms Duffield, who has previously clashed with the prime minister on gender issues, attacked the government for pursuing “cruel and unnecessary” policies as she resigned the Labour whip.
Read more:
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She criticised the decision to keep the two-child benefit cap and means-test the winter fuel payment, and accused the prime minister of “hypocrisy” over his acceptance of free gifts from donors.
“Since the change of government in July, the revelations of hypocrisy have been staggering and increasingly outrageous,” she said.
“I cannot put into words how angry I and my colleagues are at your total lack of understanding about how you have made us all appear.”
Ms Duffield also mentioned the recent “treatment of Diane Abbott”, who said she thought she had been barred from standing by Labour ahead of the general election, before Sir Keir said she would be allowed to defend her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat for the party.
Her relationship with the Labour leadership has long been strained and her decision to quit the party comes after seven other Labour MPs were suspended for rebelling by voting for a motion calling for the two-child benefit cap to be abolished.
“Someone with far-above-average wealth choosing to keep the Conservatives’ two-child limit to benefit payments which entrenches children in poverty, while inexplicably accepting expensive personal gifts of designer suits and glasses costing more than most of those people can grasp – this is entirely undeserving of holding the title of Labour prime minister,” she said.
Ms Duffield said she will continue to represent her constituents as an independent MP, “guided by my core Labour values”.
UK
King Charles hails ‘uniquely special’ Scotland as it marks Holyrood milestone – before being hugged by woman
The King has paid tribute to Scotland as a “uniquely special place” for the Royal Family as he marked the 25th anniversary of the Scottish parliament.
At the ceremony to commemorate a quarter of a century since parliament opened at Holyrood, the King said: “Speaking from a personal perspective, Scotland has always had a uniquely special place in the hearts of my family and myself.
“My beloved grandmother was proudly Scottish, my late mother especially treasured the time spent at Balmoral, and it was there in the most beloved of places, where she chose to spend her final days.”
He said we are all “united by our love of Scotland”, paying tribute to its “natural beauty”, “strength of character”, “diversity of its people”, “passions and frequently deeply held beliefs”.
“From the central belt to the north Highlands, across the islands in Ayrshire, in the Borders, the cities, towns and villages, all the coastal communities, who I wonder, could not fail to be moved by this complex Caledonian kaleidoscope?,” he asked as presiding officer Alison Johnstone and the Queen sat beside him.
After he gave the speech, the King was hugged by a member of the public – who said she did so “because of him being unwell”.
The 75-year-old was diagnosed with cancer in February but has since returned to public duties.
Yvonne Macmillan, 59, from East Renfrewshire, attended the anniversary ceremony with her husband Russell who is registered blind and chosen as a “local hero” for work in their area.
“I asked him if he was feeling better and if I could give him a hug. I actually said to him: ‘Can I hug you?’,” she said.
“As I hugged him I said, ‘God bless you’, so it was like God giving him a hug.”
The King listens to the presiding officer of the Scottish parliament at Holyrood. Pic: PA
The Queen sits alongside the King as he makes his speech on Saturday. Pic: PA
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While Sir Tony Blair’s Labour government legislated for Scottish devolution in 1997 – parliament officially opened at Holyrood on 1 July 1999.
The King has made six visits to the parliament since 1999 – while his mother Queen Elizabeth II made 10 visits during her lifetime.
The King arrives at the Scottish parliament on Saturday. Pic: PA
Scottish First Minister John Swinney is one of a number of MSPs who have been at Holyrood since the start of devolution.
He said in his own speech in Edinburgh on Saturday that the parliament has “placed itself at the very heart of the nation”, describing it as a “vessel of enlightenment, invention and creativity”.
The King shakes hands with First Minister John Swinney in Edinburgh on Saturday. Pic: PA
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The SNP’s Christine Grahame is another MSP who has been there since the start.
“Free tuition, free prescriptions, game-changing policies to tackle child poverty, the ban on smoking, the baby box, ScotRail back in public ownership – none of this would have been possible without the Scottish parliament and the strength of our commitment to self-determination,” she said on Saturday.
The King said the devolved parliament has the ability to “touch and to improve the lives of so many individuals”.
Former first ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf take a selfie as they wait for the King. Pic: PA
But he added that “there remains much more to be done” for Scotland, the rest of the UK, particularly with regards to climate change.
“Let this moment therefore be the beginning of the next chapter,” he told those assembled.
“The achievement of the past and the commitment shown in the present give us the soundest basis for confidence in the future.”
A moped riding phone thief was caught red-handed after police tracked the device down hours after he snatched it from a woman’s hand.
CCTV footage released by police showed a masked moped rider mount the pavement in Croydon, south London, to swipe a phone from a woman’s hand on 6 March, while another victim had theirs stolen while they waited for a bus an hour later.
Amari Scott, 20, looked surprised when confronted by officers inside a shop, where he was found with two mobile phones.
Amari Scott was caught red-handed. Pic: Met Police
“We’ve just had a moped rob a mobile phone off the pavement and the phone is pinging in this location,” one of the officers told him in body-worn camera footage before Scott was handcuffed and led away.
Police also recovered a stolen motorbike and Scott, from Sutton, south London, was later jailed for four years.
Two teenagers who committed four robberies in the space of just half an hour were also arrested as part of a crackdown in Croydon.
Aged 16 and 17, the teens were issued with referral orders after pleading guilty to charges of robbery, attempted robbery and attempted grievous bodily harm.
Amari Scott was jailed for four years. Pic: Met Police
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They were behind a spree of eight robberies across Croydon and nearby Bromley, including four within 30 minutes on the morning of 5 August.
Their crimes, which included the knife point robbery of a rough sleeper outside Croydon library, were caught on CCTV.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
One of the teenagers tried to discard a knife before she was arrested after a foot chase, telling officers: “The knife wasn’t mine”.
The other ran away, leaving a knife and his bag, but was lying in bed at home when he was arrested shortly after.
Two teenagers committed four robberies in 30 minutes. Pic: Met Police
The Metropolitan Police said officers are intensifying efforts to tackle robbery and theft, encouraging victims to report incidents as they happen to increase the chances of catching the criminals.
Chief Inspector James Weston said: “We understand the impact that robbery has on victims – it is invasive and frightening.
“That’s why our teams are working so hard to deter and catch offenders to reassure our local community.
“Thanks to the hard work of officers, our partners and community grassroots organisations, we are stepping up our efforts and tackling the issues that matter most to the people of Croydon.”
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