Reward of £50,000 offered by Lord Ashcroft, founder of charity Crimestoppers, in hunt for killer of 9-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel

The charity Crimestoppers makes urgent direct appeal to those with information to contact Crimestoppers anonymously

LONDON, Sept. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As the desperate search for the killer of schoolgirl Olivia Pratt-Korbel continues, the Founder and Chair of the charity Crimestoppers, Lord Ashcroft, is supporting the investigation by personally offering £50,000 for information that leads to those responsible being jailed.

Crimestoppers takes vital information about crime completely anonymously, meaning personal details of people contacting them are never asked for or stored. Over 1,500 people contact the charity each day as it provides a safe, alternative way to pass on what they know without any comeback.

The new appeal is aimed at those in the community who have so far been too scared to come forward. It follows the death of Olivia Pratt-Korbel in her home in Dovecot, Liverpool on 22 August. Olivia was shot dead in the chest by a gunman in a tragedy that also saw her 46-year-old mother Cheryl shot in the wrist as she desperately tried to shield her daughter from harm.

***The charity Crimestoppers - which is independent of the police - is supporting the investigation by offering a reward of up to £50,000 for anonymous information it exclusively receives - via its website Crimestoppers-uk.org or by phone on 0800 555 111 – that leads to the conviction of the person responsible for Olivia Pratt-Korbel's murder***

Lord Ashcroft, Founder and Chair of Crimestoppers, said: "Our charity's UK Contact Centre takes calls and receives information online every day from people who live in close-knit communities who are genuinely fearful about speaking directly to the police. That's why we're here to help them do the right thing and say what they know, safe in the knowledge that with Crimestoppers, once you've said your piece, there will be no consequences. 

"Olivia's murder has shocked us all, which is why I have made this personal offer of up to £50,000 available via Crimestoppers to help get justice for Olivia's family and friends. What happened is truly unacceptable and I say to anyone who has information that can help catch the killer to come forward completely anonymously."

Mick Duthie, Director of Operations at the charity Crimestoppers, said: "We know it can be difficult to speak up about someone who is involved in serious crime, especially if they are close to you. Crimestoppers has kept our promise to protect your identity since we started back in the late 1980s. Around half a million people contact our charity every year to pass on what they know.

"If you know who was involved in Olivia Pratt-Korbel's murder, please speak to us completely anonymously. Call our UK Contact Centre, which is open 24/7, on freephone 0800 555 111 or use our simple and secure anonymous online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org. Nobody will know you contacted us, and you will be doing the right thing for Olivia, her family, friends and the wider community across Liverpool who are still trying to come to terms with this tragedy."

Please note: Computer IP addresses are never traced, and no-one will ever know you contacted Crimestoppers. No personal details are asked for or stored.
For telephone calls, there is no caller line display, no 1471 facility and calls have never been traced. The charity is completely independent of the police and guarantees your personal identity will always been protected.

***Information passed directly to police will not qualify for a reward. Only information given exclusively to the charity Crimestoppers via the 0800 555 111 number or the simple and secure anonymous online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org will qualify***

More information about how to claim a reward is available here.

Notes to editors:

• Rewards expire after three months, so this appeal should not be published after Wednesday 14^th December 2022.
• Crimestoppers is an independent charity helping communities to 'Speak up. Stay safe.'
• Our 0800 555 111 telephone number and website crimestoppers-uk.org gives people the power to speak up and pass on information about crime 100% anonymously. Since we began in the late 1980s, we have always kept this promise.
• Alongside our national campaigns, we have hundreds of volunteers across the UK who help us promote our services to those that need to hear about them.
• Every region of the UK has a Crimestoppers team responsible for raising awareness of our charity and running local campaigns about issues that affect their area.
• Around 10 people are arrested and charged every day as a result of information given to Crimestoppers.
• Since Crimestoppers began in 1988, it has received over 2.2 million actionable calls, resulting in more than 151,000 arrests and charges, over £139 million worth of stolen goods have been recovered and over £367 million worth of illegal drugs have been seized.
• In 2005, Crimestoppers launched the UK's Most Wanted on its website which allows the public to view images of criminals and pass on vital information about their whereabouts. It has been highly successful, with over 4,700 arrests to date.