Justice Secretary Dominic Raab has launched a desperate bid to keep Tony Hudgell’s mum in jail.
Baby Tony was beaten by Jody Simpson, 29, and Anthony Smith, 52, so badly that his legs were amputated.
Simpson was due out this week after winning a High Court challenge against the justice secretary’s decision to put her release on hold.
Mr Raab has now called on the Appeal Court to overturn the decision.
Tony Hudgell helped raise millions during the 2020 lockdown.
Gareth Fuller
Tony’s adoptive mum Paula Hudgell, 55, said: “Any extra time Simpson spends behind bars is justice for Tony. She and Smith are monsters.”
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) were granted 21 days to apply for leave to appeal after Mrs Justice Williams ruled in Simpson’s favour.
An application was launched to the Court of Appeal by the MoJ challenging the High Court decision.
Simpson will remain behind bars while a decision on whether to grant a hearing is considered.
Mr Raab said: “Tony Hudgell was mercilessly tortured by his birth parents, the very people who should have loved and cared for him.
“It’s my duty to protect other children from that awful experience which is why we will be challenging this ruling and Jody Simpson will remain behind bars while the courts consider our appeal.”
Tony touched hearts across the nation in 2020 during lockdown when he raised over £1.7 million for the Evelina London Children’s Hospital, the place where his life was saved as he learned to walk on his first pair of prosthetic legs.
He also successfully campaigned with his adoptive parents for Tony’s law, which increased maximum jail terms for harm to a child from 10 years to 14 years, and life imprisonment for fatal cases.
