Derby fire parents arrested for murder

The parents of six children killed in an arson attack on their home were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of murder.

Mick Philpott, 55, and his wife Mairead, 31, were detained in connection with the attack on the house in Derby.

Philpott had made a tearful appeal at a police press conference after the blaze on May 11, repeatedly pausing to compose himself.

The victims, whose ages ranged from 13 to five, died after the fire, which police said was started with petrol.

Derbyshire Police said a 55-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman from Derby were arrested but did not name them. Sources confirmed they were the parents.

After the arrests, Assistant Chief Constable Steve Cotterill said: “I suspect there may still be people with crucial information who have not yet come forward to speak to us.

“In view of the arrests, I would urge anyone who may have been holding back, not felt comfortable to voice their concerns or not had the confidence, to do so now.

“They have my personal reassurance that we will deal with their information sensitively.

“We still need information to help us in this inquiry.

“The latest arrests are just one step further in the investigation.”

Mick Philpott made headlines in 2007 when he appeared in a television documentary about welfare made by a former prisons minister, Ann Widdecombe.

At the time he had 17 children and demanded that local authorities give him a larger house to share with his wife, girlfriend and eight of their children, leading the press to dub him “Shameless Mick”.

Police have said that during the fire Philpott made a “valiant attempt” to rescue the children, who had been sleeping on the first floor.

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