Darwin sons: Mum is 'hideous liar'

The sons of John and Anne Darwin, whose audacious life insurance scam saw them jailed for more than six years each last week, spoke out yesterday about their anger over their parents' betrayal.

In interviews with two Sunday newspapers, Anthony and Mark Darwin called their mother a "hideous, lying bitch" who had dragged them "through hell" by telling them that their father had died in a canoeing accident, when in fact he was still alive. The brothers also said that they could never forgive their parents, who faked Mr Darwin's death in 2002 to pay off their debts with his life insurance money, for deceiving them for six years.

Anthony, 29, said: "They have tarnished all the good times that came before. I can't ever forgive them for putting us through the torture of mourning. They were in it together and they deserve the sentences handed down by the judge. They're as bad as each other. Dad told one nasty lie and disappeared and said he was dead but she lied for six years. She was the face of the lies and she kept lying, even when the evidence was so overwhelmingly against her. She dragged us through hell by forcing a court case."

His brother, Mark, 32, said: "I have been had completely and I feel bitter about it. It will take a lot of time to come to terms with what they have done. At the moment, I want nothing to do with them."

They also revealed that their mother, Anne, 56, had sent them letters from jail begging for their forgiveness but that neither of them could forgive her.