The Man Who Would Stop at Nothing: The Mick Philpott Trial

In 2006 and 2007, Mick Philpott became a media bogeyman as a result of his 15 children with several different mothers and his request for a larger council property to house his family, which at the time included both Willis and Mairead Philpott. He appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show and the 2007 documentary Ann Widdecombe versus the Benefits Culture. The couple, along with Paul Mosley, were found guilty of manslaughter at Nottingham Crown Court this afternoon following a lengthy, high-profile trial. The Philpotts' five children, plus a sixth child from Mairead Philpott's previous relationship, died in a fire at the family home in Allenton, Derby, in May 2012. The prosecution case was that the three defendants planned the fire in an attempt to frame Mick Philpott's ex-partner, Lisa Willis, and influence family court proceedings concerning Willis and Mick Philpott's four children, who were under Willis's care at the time.