It is understood that the review follows the submission of a dossier of evidence from the team of former Met Police murder detectives who spent about three years reviewing the case before becoming convinced Steele and Whomes are innocent.
Steele's parole hearing in November was previously adjourned for further information after Steele made corruption allegations against Essex Police during earlier parole reviews.
The application was based on information in a leaked secret Met Police anti-corruption report that detailed how an organised crime boss was secretly recorded on police tape, on the day Leah died on November 16 1995, offering to arrange the murders of the suppliers of the drug that killed her.
The pair have previously failed to overturn their convictions at the Court of Appeal and in 2023 the Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC) rejected an application from their lawyers to refer their convictions back to the Court of Appeal.
Details of the recording were never disclosed to the defence during the trial of Whomes and Steele, but after looking into the non-disclosure for six years, the CCRC concluded it was not enough to provoke a retrial.
