A notorious police killer jailed for life in 1966 has been released from prison despite calls from the victims' relatives, police officials and politicians for him to remain behind bars. 

Harry Roberts, 78, formally of Wanstead, is one of Britain's longest serving prisoners, having spent 48 years in jail for shooting dead two unarmed police officers in Shepherd's Bush. 

An accomplice murdered a third officer

Roberts was released from Littlehey prison in Cambridgeshire on Monday night, according to reports.   

PC Geoffrey Fox, 41, Detective Sergeant Christopher Head, 30, and Detective Constable David Wombwell, 25, were killed after they approached Roberts' van parked near Wormwood Scrubs prison, which was stocked with firearms. 

Roberts, whose parents ran The George pub in High Street, Wanstead, is said to have applied for parole many times in recent years. 

Following the killings, he hid out in Epping Forest and the surrounding areas for three months, before being captured in a camouflaged den near Bishops Stortford. 

Police officials including Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe reacted angrily to news he was due to be released saying "life should have meant what it said."

John Tully, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation called his release "sickening".