Katie Piper has been told that she will have to wait until November to hear the parole appeal for the stalker who ordered a devastating acid attack on the model.
Daniel Lynch, a former boyfriend of Piper, has been allocated a private two-day parole appearance on November 17th and 18th after having a hearing in July adjourned before it started.
It is not known why the original hearing was delayed, but the nature of the crime and its high profile means the panel will seek detailed reports from all interested parties, including prison officers and psychiatrists.
Katie, 40, is believed to have provided a detailed Victim Impact Statement for the July appeal which will now be used in November, unless she asks to change any of it. The hearing delay is reported to have caused her huge anxiety.
The Loose Women star previously said Lynch's release was on her mind. She said: 'I'm 40 this year. Am I going to die in the next ten years? I don't actually know. The people that attacked me will be released. Are they going to kill me? I'm not sure.'
A spokesperson for the Parole Board said: 'An oral hearing has been listed for the parole review of Daniel Lynch and is scheduled to take place in November 2024.
Katie Piper (pictured in 2023) was just 24 in March 2008 when the harrowing acid attack happened. She needed 400 operations after being left with severe burns
Daniel Lynch (pictured) had hoped to be released after spending 15 years in jail
'Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.
'A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.
'Members read and digest hundreds of pages of evidence and reports in the lead up to an oral hearing.
'Evidence from witnesses including probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officials supervising the offender in prison as well as victim personal statements are then given at the hearing.
'The prisoner and witnesses are then questioned at length during the hearing which often lasts a full day or more.
'Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.'
Lynch, now 47, wants to be freed from jail, but if the panel rejects this move, he is asking to be sent to an open prison and a precursor to eventual release.
The three person parole board can also reject the appeal, which will mean Lynch will stay in prison for a further two-years until he is eligible for another hearing.
Lynch was jailed for life with a minimum term of 16 years in May 2009 at London's Wood Green crown court for the rape of Piper and for telling Stefan Sylvestre to throw acid on her.
Sylvestre, then 19, who threw the acid, was given a life sentence, with a minimum term of six years, in 2009 and released on licence in 2018.
Katie pictured in October 2009 after she was attacked with sulphuric acid
After Katie ended their relationship, Lynch bombarded her with phone calls. He was on the phone to her as she walked down a street in Golders Green, north London, when Sylvestre threw sulphuric acid in her face
Since the attack Katie has rebuilt her life and was awarded an OBE for charity and burns services in the New Year Honours 2022
In 2022, he was recalled to prison for breaching his licence conditions, with police issuing an arrest warrant after it was thought he had left the UK.
Katie was just 24 in March 2008 when the harrowing attack happened. She needed 400 operations after being left with severe burns.
Lynch, who had a previous conviction for pouring boiling water over a man, was said to have become obsessively jealous after briefly dating Piper before the attack.
After she ended their relationship, Lynch bombarded her with phone calls. He was on the phone to her as she walked down a street in Golders Green, north London, when Sylvestre threw sulphuric acid in her face.
In March, former Met detective Peter Bleksley described Lynch's bid for freedom and Sylvestre being on the run as 'utterly abhorrent'.
'The victim in this case has been through an utterly horrific ordeal. With one defendant having fled the country and the other out potentially in weeks, I imagine she feels the system has badly let her down.
'I can fully understand why she would think like that. It's appalling. It is utterly abhorrent.'
In June last year, the Loose Women star said Lynch's release was on her mind. She said: 'I'm 40 this year. Am I going to die in the next ten years? I don't actually know.
'The people that attacked me will be released. Are they going to kill me? I'm not sure.'
