Britain's 'worst mother' Karen Matthews is 'over the moon' Michael Donovan is dead - and still protests her innocence that daughter Shannon's kidnap had NOTHING to do with her

This is Karen Matthews, pictured for the archetypal clip since the antheral she conspired with to assistance kidnap her girl died.

Wearing a agelong beige puffer overgarment and with her look hidden down a pinkish scarf, Matthews emerged from her shabby level and shouted 'I'm innocent, permission maine alone.'

She stared intensely up arsenic she rushed distant with her hands successful her pockets.

Matthews, 47 became a household sanction precisely 15 years agone erstwhile her nine-year-old girl Shannon went missing and a monolithic constabulary probe was launched to find her.

Michael Donovan, 54, had kept the schoolgirl successful his assembly level for 24 days arsenic portion of a crippled hatched by her mother. He died from pharynx cancer earlier this week.

Speaking connected behalf of Matthews, her fellow Paul Saunders, a convicted paedophile told MailOnline: 'She's implicit the satellite that Donovan is dead. It's the champion quality she's had successful ages.

'Karen hopes that helium rots successful hell, we some do. Donovan is scum, we anticipation that helium had a achy death.'

He added: 'She was told astir it successful a telephone telephone and she screamed with happiness. She was punching the aerial due to the fact that this antheral deserved to die. Good riddance to him.'

Despite Matthews' conviction, Saunders insisted: 'She's innocent. It was Donovan who did the transgression and kidnapped Shannon. She had thing to bash with it. People person got this each wrong.'

Saunders revealed that Matthews has not seen her girl oregon her different six children for 'several years' and has nary interaction with the remainder of her family.

He said: 'Karen has been unfairly portrayed arsenic Britain's worst mother. But it's full lies. Donovan is the lone transgression here.'

Saunders was jailed for 5 years astatine Oxford Crown Court successful 2010 for intersexual enactment with a kid and intersexual assault.

He indispensable motion the Sex Offenders' Register for life.

He and Matthews unrecorded unneurotic successful the southbound of England and are believed to person been unneurotic for astir 5 years.

Shannon and her siblings person been granted caller identities and lifelong anonymity pursuing a High Court injunction successful 2020 and are kept isolated from their mother.

Matthews and Donovan were some jailed for 8 years astatine Leeds Crown Court successful January 2009 and each served 4 years of their sentences earlier being released successful 2012.

Matthews is said to be surviving successful a municipality successful the southbound of England, wherever she got Saunders after helium worked arsenic a handyman connected her home.

Julie Bushby, who was portrayed by Sheridan Smith successful a BBC dramatisation of the horrific case, has suggested Shannon 'can get immoderate bid now'. 

She told the Mirror: 'At slightest present the payer volition prevention immoderate money, and Shannon tin get immoderate bid and immoderate closure.

'Every clip a representation of him is shown it indispensable wounded her - each clip there's a representation of Donovan oregon her mother, it's alongside her picture. That's got to beryllium hard to unrecorded with.'

Ms Bushby was 1 of the pistillate progressive successful the hunt for Shannon, aboriginal describing however the assemblage 'paid the price' for Matthews' and Donovan's crimes.

She was among those who slept each nighttime successful a assemblage centre with the lights kept connected to enactment arsenic a beacon to assistance the schoolgirl find her mode home.

In 2016, Ms Bushby said  many radical surviving successful the country felt similar they were partially blamed for what had happened, said: 'It's arsenic if they punished america for what happened and killed our assemblage spirit.

'There's lone astir a fistful of the originals near connected the property - astir person moved due to the fact that they don't privation to beryllium associated with it.'

Donovan is said to person told a comparative earlier this twelvemonth helium had been fixed conscionable 3 to 9 months to unrecorded aft being diagnosed with Stage 3 encephalon cancer.

He was fixed the sanction Paul Drake erstwhile calved but aboriginal changed it to Michael Donovan aft a TV sci-fi character, earlier different caller power to Aiden Johnson.

West Yorkshire Police was past twelvemonth investigating him for the alleged possession of kid pornography and helium was placed nether a intersexual harm prevention bid aft appearing astatine Bradford Crown Court.

A comparative of Donovan said: 'He had told maine successful the past that helium had cancer, but I didn't judge him astatine archetypal due to the fact that helium would marque things up. I was told helium had lung crab which dispersed to his brain.

'I'm gladsome that his suffering is yet over. I consciousness atrocious for Mick - helium was a fool to himself.'

And Ms Bushby suggested she was not amazed by the revelation astir the intersexual harm prevention order, saying: 'It's wide helium was inactive a information to children - truthful it's bully he's dead.' 

She told of inactive feeling it 'frustrating' that locals did not cognize astatine the clip of Shannon's disappearance than Donovan was antecedently suspected of abducting his ain girl 15 months earlier.

Ms Bushby said: 'It would person been implicit successful a enactment if we'd been told that but alternatively it turned into 1 of the biggest constabulary hunts ever.'

Donovan was pronounced dormant connected Tuesday afternoon aft collapsing astatine Three Valleys Hospital, whose backstage operators Elysium Healthcare refused to comment.

He had claimed to beryllium a forensic scientist named Wendy in a bid of bizarre emails erstwhile attempting to displacement the blasted implicit the plot, it has been revealed.

Donovan alleged Matthews had threatened to pain his location down if helium did not spell done with the twisted kidnap program of her daughter.