Malcolm Waite, 72, dubbed the 'drunkest driver police had ever seen,' could be released early after serving just half of his seven-year sentence for killing a university student. Waite was four times over the legal alcohol limit when his car mounted a pavement and struck 20-year-old Fenella Hawes on the Norfolk Broads in 2022. Fenella was carrying a bunch of sunflowers for her mother Margaret at the time of the crash.
Waite's conviction and sentence
At Norwich Crown Court in November 2022, Waite was sentenced to seven years in prison after being found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving. Prosecutors described him as 'the drunkest person I have ever seen behind the wheel of a car.' He was found slurring his words next to a half-drunk bottle of vodka after the incident.
Early release scheme
Under the new Sentencing Act, set to take effect in September 2026, approximately 6,000 criminals were due for early release to reduce prison overcrowding. However, the scheme was paused by Andy Burnham amid public outrage, particularly after two of PC Andrew Harper's killers were eligible for release within weeks. Burnham stated, 'Keeping the public safe will always be my top priority. I am working closely with the new Justice Secretary and have instructed my team to put a pause on the changes that were due to start in September. No prisoners will be let out under this policy until we have conducted an urgent review and done everything we can to minimise risk to the public. Where changes are needed, we will not hesitate to make them.'
Family's reaction
Fenella's family expressed horror at the possibility of Waite's early release. They described the thought of him returning to the streets as 'petrifying' and called for any offender who caused a death to be exempt from early release. Speaking to The Telegraph, they said four years in prison is no 'equivalent to Fenella's life at all.' Fenella's sister added, 'She was 20 years old and had a whole life ahead of her. It doesn’t correlate. It’s not a deterrent for anyone else to not drink drive because they can run someone over and only have to do four years for killing someone.'
Victim impact statement
In a victim impact statement read in court, Fenella's mother Margaret said: 'Every day I sob, when I wake up, throughout the day at random times with seemingly no reason and when I go to bed at night. I picture her walking along, so happy carrying sunflowers for me and then being hit by the car. I sob because I will never see Fenella again. I will never see her radiant smile or hear her laugh. I will never talk with her about her day or about her plans for the future. I sob for the future that she doesn’t have because a drunken man chose to get into a car, knowing that this was a weapon that could kill someone, and indeed it did. It killed my 20-year-old daughter. She was a young adult beginning her life and her bright future was taken out in a few seconds because of someone who did not think or did not care.'
Government review
The new prime minister's review of the early release scheme will be conducted in the 'coming days and weeks,' with decisions needed 'very quickly,' a Labour minister confirmed. The pause, initiated by Burnham, aims to ensure public safety before any releases proceed.
