The parents of a man jailed for his part in a Folkestone murder say they have new hope of overturning his conviction.

Antony Parsons was handed a life sentence under the ‘joint enterprise’ doctrine for driving Stuart Benson to and from Denmark Street, where drug dealer Ben Chantler was murdered in 2006.

Benson shot Mr Chantler following a row.

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The judge said Parsons should have known what was going to happen, even though his defence claimed there was insufficient evidence to prove he knew Benson was going to kill Mr Chantler.

Jesse and June Parsons, who now live at the Romney Sands Holiday Park in Greatstone after moving from Folkestone following the case, say they are “over the moon” with the outcome of a review carried out by the House of Commons Justice Select Committee.

The committee said: “The Law Commission should review the common-law doctrine of joint enterprise in murder cases as a matter of urgency”.

Parsons was referred to as a “dogsbody” during the seven-week trial at Maidstone Crown Court in March 2007 and is about to begin his ninth year behind bars for a crime his parents remain convinced he did not commit.

Jesse said: “The judge said he should’ve known Stuart Benson was going to do it, and had the mental element of ‘you’ve got to know’.

“It comes back to the element of planning, which they didn’t talk about.

“If he [Antony] went to plan it, you don’t use a car you had to bump-start.

“Why park five streets away and wait for him to come running past on the same route, increasing the risk of being seen, twice?”

Jesse, a retired bus driver, added: “He’s in a better position now [with these recommendations] than he was. It’s a major, major change. Just getting them to consider it in the first place was hard enough.

June, who used to work for Barnados in Folkestone, said: “We’re hoping that the Law Commission look at it. They have got until later this year to come back with their proposals.

“But the government decide, and there’s no guarantee that they will change it.

“I think the top priority is to find a solicitor. We have to wait and see, but we won’t stop.”