The Chairman of the Parole Board has “apologised unreservedly” for not informing victims of ‘black cab rapist’ John Worboys’ release, but has said it was the responsibility of another organisation to tell them. 

Nick Hardwick said on Friday that he was “very surprised and shocked” to hear that victims had learnt about the 60-year-old’s release through media reports the previous day, and acknowledged it “would have been absolutely horrible for them”.

He told the Today programme it was the job of the Victim Contact Service to liaise with victims and the Parole Board believed they had done so in this case. 

“I’m still trying to establish precisely what happened, so I don’t want to blame anybody yet, but we certainly believed the victims had been informed before we issued the decision,” Hardwick said, vowing to “check the situation more closely” to ascertain what had happened. 

He added: “Whoever’s fault it was I fully accept it was a problem with the parole system. I’m chair of the Parole Board… this would have been absolutely horrible for the two women concerned and I apologise for it unreservedly.”

Worboys was jailed in April 2009 on 19 charges of drugging and sexually assaulting at least 12 women, including raping one of them, but following his conviction dozens of other women came forward and the Met suggested he may have attacked more than 100 female passengers.

Worboys has spent around 10 years in custody, including a period on remand. His release will be managed by the Ministry of Justice, which has so far refused to comment. 

Hardwick’s comments came after Sarah Green, the co-director of End Violence Against Women, spoke about how “shocked” two of his victims were having only learnt of his release in the media, “because the Parole Board didn’t inform them of their decision which is extremely poor practice”.

Green told the Today programme that it was “imperative that we hear” from the Parole Board today about “the nature of this decision… even if lots of individual details” aren’t released. 

That call was echoed by Chairwoman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, Yvette Cooper, who said the Parole Board’s decision should be scrutinised before Worboys is released. 

Cooper said Worboys’ crimes were “the most appalling and vile” and there were “serious questions” over the decision to free him. 

“Given the seriousness of this case, the Parole Board should publish their reasons immediately so both the decision and the process can be scrutinised before this man is released,” she said.

“We also need to know what information and support was given to all the victims before this decision was taken.”

Cooper’s concerns were echoed by Conservative MP Anna Soubry. Legal commentator and blogger, the Secret Barrister, added that it was “appalling” if Worboys’ victims had not been informed.  

Responding to calls for more transparency around the Parole Board’s decision making, Hardwick said statutory rules prevent it from releasing details and used it to reiterate his desire for MPs to change the law to allow them to do so. 

He has pushed for a the rules to be reviewed since the Autumn and suggested a change could be “the one good thing” to come out of the Worboys release controversy. 

In a later statement, Hardwick said the Parole Board was going to launch a public consultation about its decision making. 

“I recognise there is a lack transparency of Parole Board processes and I have recently set out options for change. We currently have a statutory duty under the Parole Board Rules that prevents disclosure of proceedings. We will shortly be launching a public consultation about how we share our decision making with the public.

“I am very concerned some victims were not told about the decision, this must have been very distressing. There are robust arrangements in place for victims to be informed through The Victim Contact Scheme. We were told that had been done as usual in this case and released the decision on that basis.”

Green also suggested today that the Metropolitan Police should also comment on why they “failed horribly” in investigating Worboys, having acknowledged he may have had over 100 victims. 

The Women’s Equality Party said that Worboys’ release shows that the criminal justice system had failed his victims.

Sophie Walker, leader of the party, said: “The story of John Worboys is a case study in the failure of the criminal justice system to protect and deliver justice for the victims of sexual violence.

“Police initially believed this prolific predator rather than his victims and, when he was finally put behind bars after five years of attacks, he was convicted of only a small proportion of the crimes police now believe he committed.  

“It is right that sentencing guidelines for rape and sexual assault have been toughened since Worboys was convicted but he has served less than a decade for crimes that leave a permanent impact on the victims.

“The parole board may have satisfied itself that he can be prevented from ruining even more lives, but that will come as little comfort to the more than 100 women who he is thought to have attacked.”

The BBC reported one woman contacted by the broadcaster was unaware his parole hearing had been successful and that he was due to be released.

Meanwhile, Worboys’ ex-wife, Jean Clayton, told The Sun he should “never be let out”.