Canadian 'Kray' returns to freedom in Britain

A convicted killer who is a member of a notorious crime family, dubbed the "Canadian Krays", arrived in Britain yesterday after being deported from Canada.

A convicted killer who is a member of a notorious crime family, dubbed the "Canadian Krays", arrived in Britain yesterday after being deported from Canada.

Philip Wood, 44, served 14 years of a life sentence for murdering a 21-year-old woman. Two other brothers, David, 47, and Colin, 42, were also convicted of the murder and are due to be deported from Canada and returned to Britain when they are released from jail.

Douglas Wood, Colin's twin, who was deported in 1986 after serving sentences for robbery and weapons offences, has set up home in Swindon, Wiltshire. At the time of his deportation, he was considered so dangerous that no commercial airline would take him and he had to be flown out, shackled, on an RAF flight.

The Wood brothers became involved with a notorious gang in Toronto in their teenage years. By the time they reached their 20s, they ran a drugs and crime syndicate and notched up more than 100 convictions.

The British police and probation services are powerless to place any of the Scots-born brothers under supervision or force them to reveal where they are living because they were convicted and served their sentences abroad.

The Home Office plans to change the law so that British citizens convicted abroad have to spend the final part of their jail term in this country and thereby come under our parole rules.

Under Canadian law, the brothers are considered British citizens because anyone guilty of an offence with a sentence of 10 years or more can be sent back to their country of origin.

Philip Wood was released on parole from Frontenac Prison in Canada earlier this week. Looking calm and relaxed, he was flown into Heathrow airport yesterday morning where he told waiting reporters he would be taking time out to adjust after his release. He was escorted to Britain by two Canadian immigration officials and met by two British officers, with whom he spent about an hour before walking through arrivals.

Wearing dark glasses and a baseball cap, and carrying only a holdall and rucksack, he refused to discuss his plans. It is thought to be the first time he has set foot in Britain since his family emigrated from Ayrshire in 1965.

In 1986, Philip Wood and his brothers, David and Colin murdered Karen Thomson by smashing her skull and throwing her into Lake Ontario to drown. Ms Thomson, Colin's girlfriend, was due to be a key prosecution witness in a drugs case against her boyfriend. The brothers were convicted of second degree murder and given life sentences.

The brothers' late mother, Patricia Woods, took a job as a cook at the Guelph Correctional Institute, near Toronto, so she could spend more time with her sons. Her husband, William, was a travelling salesman.

Philip Wood has spent 25 years in jail. He first lost his liberty at the age of 16 when he was sentenced to 18 months for breaking and entering, theft and possession of a weapon.

In 1982 Philip admitted to breaking into a bar and was sentenced to 14 months. Colin was also involved, but Philip took the blame. Police learnt of Colin's involvement from Ms Thomson and called on her to testify. Her body was found five days before Colin's trial. "We're not pups any more, we're killers," Philip was overheard saying the day after the body was found.

The brothers' defence at the trial was brazen: they could not have murdered Ms Thomson because they were doing a heroin deal in Toronto.

David Wood is the next to be released. Although he is eligible for parole this week, he will stay in prison for three more months to complete psychiatric treatment. Two years ago he told the BBC that he could not guarantee that he would not kill after he arrives in Britain.

Colin is considered the family mastermind. He has spent 20 years in jail and has to serve another seven after breaking out of jail in 1994.

Douglas was the family's enforcer. Attacking police officers was said to be his hobby. At about the same time that his brothers were on trial for murder he was deported. He became a heroin addict and spent eight months in prison in 1996 after Tracy Foxworthy, 27, died of an overdose in Douglas's home in Bristol.

Douglas has said he will stand by his brothers when they return. He said: "No matter what, blood is thicker than water. In many ways, all we have is each other."