A GOVERNMENT minister has agreed to meet the family of a woman murdered in Fenland 15 years ago over claims the case was ‘appalling mishandled by the police’.

Claire Oldfield-Hampson was murdered by her husband David Hampson with a hammer in their home in Norwood Road, March, before he buried her in the family garden.

Hampson pleaded guilty for murder with diminished responsibility in court but was released from prison just 14 months after sentencing when his six year sentence was reduced on appeal.

In the House of Commons, Lib Dem MP Andrew George asked Justice Minister Nick Herbert on Monday, November 7, to meet Mrs Oldfield-Hampson. He said: “My constituent Joanne Bryce, whose sister Claire Oldfield-Hampson’s murder was uncovered in December 1998, has worked tirelessly to find out why the case has been so appallingly mishandled by the local constabulary, but she and I have been frustrated at every turn.

“Will the Policing Minister meet me to discuss the issue with my constituent?”

Mr Herbert replied: “Of course I will meet my honourable Friend. I appreciate his concern and that of his constituent about the matter; the problem is that the case was investigated by the precursor of the Independent Police Complaints Commission. That is an obstacle, but I will indeed discuss the case with him.Mrs Oldfield-Hampson’s sister, who now lives in St Ives, Cornwall, complained to Cambridgeshire Police that they failed to appoint a family liason officer, failed to look into the victim’s accounts and the senior investigating officer did not identify himself to the family.

Hampson is said to have taken �10,000 from his wife’s account after he killed her in 1996 and fabricated Christmas and birthday cards to keep the illusion that she was still alive for two years before she was reported missing.

A police spokesman said: “An investigation was carried out by Bedfordshire police. The outcome of that investigation is shown in the Bryce Report which has since been published.

“It would be inappropriate for us to comment any further.”