The Belfast Telegraph has delivered a 33,000-name petition to Downing Street calling for an end to 50 per cent remission for dangerous sex offenders.

News editor Paul Connolly and reporter Deborah McAleese travelled to London as part of the paper’s Justice For Attracta campaign.

Its fight was launched after it emerged that local woman Attracta Harron had been killed by a convicted rapist who was on early release from prison.

The reporting duo hand delivered the views of 33,000 readers – who are concerned that dangerous sex offenders and violent criminals in Northern Ireland are automatically released onto the streets half way through their sentence.

The paper has now received a letter from Number 10 thanking it for the petitions and stating that the PM’s office has arranged for a minister in the Northern Ireland office to contact the Telegraph.

Paul (right), Deborah and Nigel Dodds, MP for North Belfast, hand over the petition