Jack Straw came to the defence of judges and magistrates faced with controversial bail decisions last night, as it emerged that a teenager who killed Garry Newlove had been bailed ten hours earlier.

The Justice Secretary said that the recent cases of Mr Newlove, who was kicked to death outside his house by drunken teenagers, and Garry Weddell, the police inspector thought to have killed himself while on bail for his wife’s murder, highlighted the difficult decisions facing the judiciary.

Helen Jones, Mr Newlove’s MP, demanded a Commons debate on bail conditions and requested that the Attorney-General hold an inquiry into why one of the killers of the father of three was set free.

Mr Straw said in a speech last night that independent judicial decisions were difficult to make, but insisted that they were always conducted to a “very high standard”.

His comments, in a Parole Board lecture, will be interpreted as a boost to judges who have come under fire for awarding bail to defendants in the cases of Garry Newlove and Garry Weddell.

“The decision as to whether to grant bail to a defendant is always a difficult one for judges and magistrates. These must be independent judicial decisions based on the law as it is, and they do so to a very high standard.

“I appreciate, of course, that none of this will comfort Mr Newlove’s family or those affected by the actions of Garry Weddell. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.”

Adam Swellings, a teenager, was bailed hours before he took part in the gang murder of Mr Newlove.

In the second case Weddell, a police inspector, is believed to have shot his mother-in-law dead then killed himself while on bail charged with murdering his wife.

Mr Straw said such decisions were “desperately difficult”, as were similar rulings on the freeing of offenders which have to be made by the Parole Board.

He said that overwhelmingly the Parole Board made the correct decisions. “Even so, it sometimes attracts the opprobrium of the press, the public and [on occasion] politicians. It does not deserve, however, this criticism.

“As with the judges, [the Parole Board] must be free to come to its decisions in individual cases without interference,” he said in his speech. “And there must be a better appreciation of the case and professionalism which you all show.”

Mr Straw’s comments on respecting bail decisions of sentencers came as Harriet Harman, Leader of the House, promised to learn the lessons from the gang murder of Garry Newlove.

Mr Newlove, a 47-year-old sales manager, was kicked to death by three teenagers outside his Warrington home in August. After three were convicted at Chester Crown Court, it emerged that one of them, Adam Swellings, 19, from Crewe, had been bailed from custody only hours before the fatal attack.

Swellings had been bailed on condition he stayed away from Warrington, but never left the town. Instead, he met up with fellow gang members Stephen Sorton, 17, of Warrington, and Jordan Cunliffe, 16, formerly of Warrington, and began their drink and drugs binge.

Ms Jones, MP for Warrington North, said: “What was done to ensure he complied with that condition? My understanding is that Adam Swellings had a history of offences and breaching court orders. There are serious questions that need to be asked.”

In an e-mail sent to Sky News, Helen Newlove, 44, the dead man’s widow, said: “I have woken up this morning still feeling numb but I feel I need to carry on vocalising my issues through other channels.

“I am determined to carry on for the sake of my wonderful husband Garry. He will not have died in vain. I will be making sure that \ do not just sit up and listen to me, but put action into place to protect society and make these people who we vote in to Parliament carry out their promises and make our streets safer.”

Peter Fahy, the Chief Constable of Cheshire, said the teenage boys who killed Mr Newlove were victims of a “strange” British culture that encouraged drinking to excess. “We’ve got to get better at an earlier stage of identifying these young people who’ve got a drinking problem,” he said.

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