The case of serial sex offender John Worboys encapsulates much that is wrong with the criminal justice system today. Too much decision-making is technocratic and procedural and too little is based on common sense.

The failure of David Gauke, the Justice Secretary, to pursue a judicial review of the Parole Board’s initial decision to release Worboys after 10 years in prison was lamentable. He told MPs in January that he opposed the decision, but legal experts advised an appeal would “not be feasible or appropriate”.

Yet the High Court yesterday quashed Worboys’s release pending another hearing, after a courageous challenge brought by two of his victims. Nick Hardwick, the Parole Board chairman,...