'Arrogant' son of former MP jailed for killing boy with car seat

The son of a former British minister who crushed a three-year-old boy to death when he pushed his car seat back has been jailed.

Stephen Waterson, 26, inflicted catastrophic brain injuries on Alfie Lamb, his girlfriend's son, when he reversed the seat of his Audi convertible into the child last year.

He is the adopted son of ex-MP Nigel Waterson, who served as a junior UK government minister in the 1990s.

Police described Stephen Waterson as being "arrogant, selfish and deeply unpleasant". He lied to officers about the circumstances of Alfie's death and threatened his girlfriend and two friends who were also in the car.

It is the first time anyone in the UK has died from crush asphyxiation as a result of an electronic car seat.

Alfie had been at the feet of his mother Adrian Hoare, 24, at the time of his death. She was jailed for child cruelty for two years and nine months in May.

Waterson admitted manslaughter by gross negligence ahead of a retrial at the Old Bailey in London.

He was sentenced to five years and six months for the manslaughter. He was also handed a further two years for witness intimidation and 18 months for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, which will run concurrently.

During Hoare's trial, the court was told Alfie started crying during the car journey after a shopping trip in South London in February 2018.

Waterson, who was in the front passenger seat, became angry when the boy continued to moan.

With the seat reversed the maximum space in the footwell could be reduced from 30 cm to 9.5cm, the Old Bailey heard.

Alfie collapsed in the car and died from his injuries in hospital three days later.