A man who committed one of the most infamous Kent murders of the 21st century will soon be released

James Ford has been in jail since 2004, when he was handed a life sentence for the killing of Amanda Champion in Ashford.

The 21-year-old, who had the mental age of a 15-year old, was strangled and slashed across the throat during a random attack in wasteland in South Willesborough.

Ford was arrested for the July 2003 murder after he rung the Samaritans 45 times confessing to the crime.

A parole board has now cleared him to be released, despite a document noting that before his internment he was described as "being willing to use violence and a weapon as a way of dealing with anger, rejection and stress".

It added the former Hunter Avenue resident was "prone to hold grudges and had tried to exert power and control over other people".

However the board highlighted a range of courses he had been taking during his sentence, and that he'd been transferred to an open prison where he was "positive and compliant."

In 2019, his name once again entered the public consciousness following the terrorist attack at Fishmongers' Hall in London.

He had been on day release on November 29 for the Learning Together prisoner education event when Usman Khan launched a vicious attack.

Ford came to the aid of Saskia Jones, who died in the knife attack alongside Jack Merritt.

At Ms Jones' inquest last month, he recalled how he'd spoken to the attacker earlier that day.

He said: "I said 'it's nice in here, but it's a bit strange all this', he didn't really respond.

"He was wearing his coat, it was long-sleeve and done up to the neck, I thought it was strange - it was quite warm in there."

Despite early calls for shorter jail sentences for those who helped during the London Bridge attack, Ford's crime was soon revealed and those calls diminished.

Amanda's aunt spoke out to say: "He is not a hero. He is a murderer out on day release, which us as a family didn't know anything about.

"He murdered a disabled girl. He is not a hero, absolutely not."

His release will be subject to licence conditions including supervision, and he will be limited on who he can contact and where he can go.

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