Man arrested over deaths of six children in Derby house fire

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jun/20/man-arrested-six-children-deaths-house-fire-derby

Version 0 of 1.

A 45-year-old man has been arrested in Derby in connection with a house fire in which six children died.

Derbyshire police confirmed that an arrest had been made on Wednesday morning in connection with the fire, but would not elaborate any further: it is not clear who the man in question is or what specific alleged offence he is being questioned about.

Police added that forensic officers were at an address in the city.

The parents of the six children who died, Mick and Mairead Philpott, aged 55 and 31 respectively, have already been charged with their murder and have been remanded in custody. A trial date has been set for January next year.

The children who died in the fire at Victory Road in Derby were Jade Philpott, 10, and brothers John, nine, Jack, eight, Jessie, six and Jayden, five. Their sibling Duwayne, 13, died in Birmingham children's hospital two days later.

During a preliminary hearing at Nottingham crown court on Monday, the couple were told they would go on trial on 14 January 2013. They will next appear before the court on 5 November for a plea and case management hearing.

The funerals for the children will take place at St Mary's catholic church in Derby on Friday.

The Roman Catholic diocese of Nottingham said the funeral service at 11am would be followed by burials at Derby's Nottingham Road cemetery. Father Alan Burbidge, the family priest, will be conducting the service.

"The family have chosen that church as a venue because they are Catholic children and they wanted a full requiem mass in a Catholic church," he said.

The prison service has not confirmed if the Philpotts have applied for leave to attend the funeral but said a risk assessment would be carried out if an application was made.