Tony Hudgell’s evil biological mother has been released from prison just seven years after she was convicted of the sickening abuse that left him needing both of his legs amputated.
Jody Simpson, then 24, was jailed in 2018 for 10 years alongside Tony’s birth father Anthony Smith after they were both convicted of child cruelty offences.
At just six-weeks-old, Tony suffered from broken fingers and toes, torn ligaments and contracted sepsis after his birth parents carried out the depraved abuse.
The twisted couple left their innocent baby to suffer in agony for ten days before finally taking him to hospital.
He was on the verge of death when medics first saw him, and due to the extreme level of torture he was subjected to, both of his legs had to be amputated in 2017.
Despite being jailed for 10 years in 2018, Simpson, now 31, was freed from HMP Downview in Sutton today after the Parole Board approved her release under supervision.
Simpson left the prison in a blacked-out car and was whisked away to a halfway house.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘This was a horrific crime that saw Tony Hudgell mercilessly tortured by his birth parents and our thoughts remain with him and his loved ones.
‘Now that Jody Simpson has been released as directed by the Independent Parole Board, she will be subject to strict supervision and licence conditions. She faces an immediate return to prison if she breaks the rules.’
The decision to release Simpson has been harshly criticised by Tony’s adoptive mother, Paula Hudgell who has warned the boy’s biological mother ‘remains a serious risk to children’.
Mrs Hudgell wrote in a post on social media: ‘After serving just two years on licence, she will be legally free to live as she chooses. This includes being around children -and even having another child.
‘This situation underscores the urgent need for a national child cruelty register – a system to ensure that individuals with a history of harming children are monitored, restricted, and prevented from reoffending.
‘Our children deserve protection. A register would not only help safeguard vulnerable young lives, but also bring peace of mind to communities across the country.
‘It’s time we put children’s safety first.’
Mrs Hudgell is now campaigning for the government to introduce a National Register of Child Abusers so those convicted of child cruelty can never work with young people and any future children they have will be taken into care.
However, a letter from Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: ‘Unfortunately the Department for Education is not in a position to be able to develop and deliver a child cruelty register at this time.’
Mrs Hudgell said she was ‘absolutely disappointed’ by the response, but vowed to keep lobbying the government.
‘We’ve got to keep pushing and pushing. But I won’t give up, I won’t back down,’ she said.
In 2021, Mrs Hudgell and Tony, who is now 10, successfully campaigned for the introduction of Tony’s Law.
It calls for child abusers to face possible life sentences and was enacted in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
Earlier this month, the Parole Board agreed to release the monster mother from jail after she had ‘engaged with art psychotherapy…and victim awareness work’.
Simpson had already been released from prison before in February 2024, but was recalled five months later after breaking her strict licence conditions by having ‘a relationship with a convicted sex offender’.
An application for her second release was made earlier this year to be heard in public, instead of in private as is usually the case.
The appeal argued the proceedings should be able to be reported on due to the ‘far reaching and profound in respect of life changing injuries caused to Tony’.
Simpson opposed the public hearing as she believed she ‘should be able to speak openly and honestly about her life, her own mental health, her work in custody including psychotherapy, her time on licence’.
Refusing the application to have it held publicly, the Parole Board said in its judgement: ‘Ms Simpson’s behaviour in custody seems to have been good.
‘On many occasions she was bullied by other prisoners who were aware of the nature of her offences and of the extensive publicity given to the case in the media.
‘This has caused various difficulties for her during her sentence, which need not be detailed here.’
It added: ‘Ms Simpson continues to receive threats and experience bullying within the prison. There is a lot of name calling and verbal threats to harm her.
‘Prior to release she was physically assaulted in her room. She is aware there are prisoners who will follow through with their threats and she tries to do all she can to keep herself safe.
‘If a public hearing was granted, more people in the prison (and community) would know of her, and this would make any part of the prison unsafe for her, in turn impacting the prison officers’ ability to maintain order in the prison and protect Ms Simpson from attacks.
‘Ms Simpson will in any event be at risk of harm from other prisoners in the establishment and potentially in any future establishment and in the community due to the nature of the index offence and the threats she continually receives in this respect.
‘Having a public hearing will cause the threats and bullying to escalate. The index offence stirs up strong feelings, and Ms Simpson has genuine fears for her safety.’
Tony’s biological father, Anthony Smith, has also lodged an appeal for an early release.
An application was made for his parole hearing to be made public, but it was not granted and will instead be made in private.
When it was revealed Jody Simpson would be released again, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: ‘This was a horrific crime that saw Tony Hudgell mercilessly tortured by his birth parents and our thoughts remain with him and his loved ones.
‘Now that the independent parole board has directed her release, Jody Simpson will be subject to strict supervision and licence conditions. She faces an immediate return to prison if she breaks the rules.’
Tony has previously been hailed a hero by Prince William and wife Kate over his extraordinary fundraising walks to help vulnerable children.
He has won a Pride of Britain award for raising £1.7million for the hospital which started treating him and has also received the British Empire Medal for services to the prevention of child cruelty.
