Entitled

"Your guiding principle is, what Mick Philpott wants, Mick Philpott gets. You have no moral compass. You are a disturbingly dangerous man. Your life has been a performance. You are, and remain, the centre of your world. I accept you have lost six children. I very much regret that everything about you suggests that your grief has very often been simulated for the public gaze."
Mrs. Justice Thirlwall, Nottingham, England

That was a British justice, in summation of a trial that had been in the news for eight weeks in central England. A notorious scofflaw, proud of the fact that he was a social predator of unbelievable proportions, with no intention, ever, of making a living for himself other than relying on social welfare benefits from the state, benefits so generous he was able to live in the kind of luxury that is denied the working poor.

He was proud of fathering seventeen children divided among five women. He received $92,000 annually in social welfare benefits. His house accommodated through an extension, a full-sized snooker table. And he was in possession of two 50-inch flat-screen television sets for his entertainment. One of the televisions was ensconced in the 'conservatory', the other the 'lounge' of his public housing accommodation.

"You loved and cared for your children -- this was Michael Philpott's plan -- he treated you as a skivy or a slave. You were prepared to do anything no matter how humiliating to keep him happy and, as a result of what you did, all your children lost their lives. You put Michael Philpott above your children and, as a result, they have died."
Mrs. Justice Thirlwall

The mystery that eludes reasonable debate is why 32-year-old Mairead, an attractive young woman, partnered herself with such a disreputable, immoral, egostistical man as 56-year-old Mick Philpott. If he was guilty of sopping up welfare to live like a potentate, so then was she equally at fault. If he thought up truly hare-brained schemes to avenge himself on another of the women who had given birth to his children, why would she accede?

Why, in the name of all that is rational and intelligent would five women involve themselves with such a disgustingly repugnant man with such unbelievably atrocious values? The conclusion must quite simply be that as manipulative as he was, they were only too willing to be exploited. But what is far worse, exploited to the degree that they would bear children sired by such a disgusting creature, which makes them equally disgusting.

The man took to bragging on television programs about his carefree, jobless style of living. And there were no repercussions. Is the British public that docile and blase about their tax dollars being used to elevate the lifestyles of such creatures? Does no one care that the British welfare system has bred such a consciousness of entitlement that is completely devoid of human pride and conscience?

The British public certainly sat up and took notice when it was revealed through the tabloid news media that the man had come up with a "wicked and dangerous plan" meant to frame a former girlfriend and mother of a number of his children, who had decided she'd had enough of him. The plan that he shared with his wife and a friend was to take the six children in their care, four of whom were Lisa Willis's children, place them in a single bedroom, set a fire in their house, and 'rescue' them through the bedroom window.

Lisa Willis and her children had lived in the house occupied by Mick and Mairead Philpott. Mairead found herself agreeable to that arrangement. One big happy family, the patriarch, the two women, one a wife the other a mistress and their combined children. Until Lisa Willis felt she'd had enough of the arrangement and walked out.

"You controlled and manipulated those women as you had controlled and manipulated their predecessors," the judge said. "They ran the household and looked after all the children. They went out to work. Their wages and their benefits went into your account, you controlled how money was spent … These two young women were not even permitted to have a front door key.
"I accept that the level of physical violence had reduced in recent years, but the level of control, aggression and fear most certainly did not. Women were your chattels, there to look after you and your children (for that is how you describe them all). You bark orders and they obey. Witness after witness described the dynamics in your household. You were kingpin, no one else mattered."

And so the plot was hatched, to set a fire. Except that the fire that was deliberately set turned out not to be as amenable as the women whom Mick Philpott exploited, and swiftly was out of control, and six children, ranging in age from five to thirteen, all died in that fire. On an earlier occasion, the man had stabbed another of his girlfriends thirteen times, attempting to murder her after she threatened to leave him.

Mick Philpott with the children who died: (back row) John, nine, and Duwayne, 13; (front row) Jack, eight, Jesse, six, Jayden, five, Jade, 10. Photograph: Hotspot Media 
 
The upshot of the trial and public outrage was that the man received a life sentence for murder. His life sentence turns out to be a definite fifteen years of incarceration. Despite the sorrow evinced by himself and his wife after the death of the children, they never did stop engaging in sex threesomes and sex with strangers. 

As for the sentence meted out to the man, his wife and a family friend who had been involved in the fire scheme, all were found guilty of six counts of manslaughter.

A neighbour who had been arrested on suspicion of having started the fire when Philpott had pointed him out as the likely culprit was of the opinion that "Life should mean life", and he is absolutely correct in that sober assessment.

Tributes outside the house where six Philpott children died in Derby. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images