Gary Glitter is set to make a fresh bid for release from prison at a private parole hearing, in the face of claims from one of his victims that the shamed former pop star has a “total lack of remorse” for his crimes.
The 79-year-old – real name Paul Gadd – was jailed in 2015 for sexual abuse against three schoolgirls between 1975 and 1980, when he was at the height of his glam rock fame.
Gadd was set free from prison in February last year, having reached the halfway stage of a 16-year sentence and being eligible for automatic release.
However, less than six weeks after walking free he was taken back to prison for breaching his licence conditions by allegedly viewing downloaded images of children.
A parole board hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, to determine if Gadd is fit to be set free again. A bid for the hearing to be held in public was thwarted as it was deemed too difficult to contact and consult with all of his victims.
One of the girls Gadd abused was 12-years-old at the time and is suing the shamed performer for damages in the High Court.
Her lawyer, Richard Scorer from Slater and Gordon, said this week: “Throughout the case Gadd has refused to co-operate at all and has ignored court orders, deliberately making the process more stressful and traumatic for our client.
“This behaviour demonstrates Gadd’s total lack of remorse.
“We have made the Parole Board aware of his behaviour and they have confirmed that this information will be included in a report to the Parole Board panel ahead of the hearing.
“I hope the board take this matter very seriously as it is yet more evidence of Gadd’s lack of remorse, and contempt for his victims.”
The former singer’s fall from grace began in the late 1990s when he was jailed for four months for possessing thousands of child abuse images.
In 2002 he was expelled from Cambodia amid reports of sex crime allegations, and in March 2006 he was convicted of sexually abusing two girls, aged 10 and 11, in Vietnam and spent two and a half years in jail.
Back in the UK, Gadd was one of the first targets of the Metropolitan Police’s Operation Yewtree, launched in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.
He was tried and convicted at Southwark crown court, after jurors heard one victim’s recollection of Gadd, smelling of alcohol, creeping into her bed and sexually assaulting her in 1975.
Gadd was recalled to prison after he was allegedly caught discussing access to the Dark Web at his bail hostel.
His prison sentence is due to expire in February 2031.
