Olivia Pratt-Korbel's mother demands killers be forced to face families of victims in court

Describing her daughter's killers as a "coward", Cheryl Korbel said she wanted the imprisoned Thomas Cashman to "listen to the pain he caused, the pain we went through and the pain we are still going through"

Olivia Pratt-Korbel's mother Cheryl says no other family should have to endure her ordeal

The mother of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel has demanded an urgent change in the law to compel the killers to appear in the dock.

In April, Thomas Cashman, 34, was jailed for at least 42 years for the murder of Olivia, who was shot dead in Liverpool, but he refused to leave his cell to face justice and a family impact statement.

Describing her daughter's killer as a 'coward', Cheryl Korbel told BBC Breakfast on Friday: "Throughout the trial, even when he was in the dock, there was a constant blind down.

"He couldn't see me or any of the family. Apparently we were told we were intimidating. I wanted to talk to him. I think that's why he never came, because he could have seen me."

When asked if she could have looked at Cashman, she replied, "Yes. But I know for a fact he wouldn't have looked at me."

Thomas Cashman was jailed in April for the murder of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel

In a hard-hitting interview, Ms Korbel, who has campaigned for a change in the law to require defendants to attend their sentencing hearings, said that "no other family should go through what we went through".

Ms. Korbel appeared on the show with parents Kim Alcock and Antonia Elverson, all wearing sweaters emblazoned with Olivia's picture.

BBC host Naga Munchetty told them: 'You are a grieving family, but you are also a fighting family and we respect you enormously for that.

The Mirror has also launched the Frace Justice campaign to call for an urgent change in the law to force killers to face the families of their victims.

In a separate interview, Ms Korbell also called for a face-to-face meeting with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to discuss the campaign.

She added, "I wanted him [Cashman] to listen to the pain he caused, the pain we went through and the pain we are still going through."

Last month, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk said the government was committed to introducing legislation allowing offenders to be compelled to attend their sentencing hearings.

But earlier this year