The killer of heroic police officer Nina Mackay is being released...15 years after being jailed for life

The killer of heroic woman police officer Nina Mackay is being released 15 years after being jailed for life, it has been revealed.

Magdi Elgizouli, 44, was diagnosed as having a pathological hatred of the police after he knifed Pc Mackay to death in 1997 in Arthingworth Street, Stratford.

The schizophrenic has now been deemed well enough to be transferred from a secure unit to a community hostel, but psychiatrists still fear his mental state could be adversely affected if he sees police on patrol. As a result he will be housed in an area with few police on the streets to protect his mental health.

Although there are concerns about how Elgizouli will react to seeing police officers, psychiatrists say he is not a danger to the public.

Elgizouli stabbed Pc Nina Mackay, 25, to death with a seven-and-a-half-inch kitchen knife as she went to arrest him at a flat in Stratford, in October 1997.

Moments before her death, WPC Mackay removed the body armour that could have saved her life because the protective vest was hampering her movement. Elgizouli – a frequent user of cannabis – was in breach of bail conditions for assaulting a police officer and possessing an offensive weapon, a knife, 11 days earlier.

He was detained indefinitely after admitting manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Pc Mackay’s father, retired Metropolitan Police Chief Supt Sidney Mackay, could barely believe the news of Elgizouli’s release.

Mr Mackay, 68, told the Daily Mail: “I can confirm that I have been informed by the relevant authorities of Elgizouli’s impending release. The content of these discussions has to remain confidential. But I think it a matter of great public interest that people are aware that he is back on the streets with freedom of movement.

“Despite being given assurances about his suitability for release, I have great unease that contact with the police or public could have tragic consequences. My personal view is that my daughter has gone and he should have taken the consequences, and not be allowed to resume a normal life when we are living with her loss on a daily basis. I hope that his freedom of movement does not allow him to return to his old practice of taking large quantities of cannabis.’

Mr Mackay added: “I was not in a position to object to the decision to release him. All that had to be resolved when I was informed of his release was where his place of residence would be.”

A Mental Health Review Tribunal hearing paved the way for Elgizouli’s release, on the basis that he is no longer deemed to be a danger to the public and that his psychiatric state can be controlled by him taking regular medication.

Peter Smyth, chairman of the Met Police Federation, said: “This man should only be released when the authorities are absolutely convinced he is no longer a danger to police and the public. It’s as much about protection as punishment.”

He added: “We have always maintained a position that life means life. In this case, being locked up indefinitely should mean exactly that.”

In a letter to the Mental Health Review Tribunal in 2008, Mr Mackay said: “We owe it to the memory and love we bear our daughter not to see her death disappear as another statistic while the person responsible resumes his life as if nothing happened.”