Huntley 'must stay in jail until he dies'

Ian Huntley should stay in prison until he dies because he has failed to show remorse for the Soham killings, a report by prison assessors says.

He has displayed "sarcastic nonchalance" over his conviction for the murders of 10-yearolds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, it claims.

Huntley, 31, is in the hospital wing of Wakefield jail in West Yorkshire, serving a life sentence for the August 2002 murders.

The Sentence Planning and Review Board, which makes recommendations on the jail terms of Britain's most dangerous criminals, has concluded Huntley should never be let out.

The discovery of pornography in his cell by prison search teams will also have weighed heavily against any chance he may have had of release because Huntley was linked with a series of sex attacks from the mid-Nineties.

The report, according to today's Daily Mirror, says: "His threats of suicide and refusal to show any remorse for the victims and their families during induction interviews, coupled with the confiscation of pornography by the dedicated (cell) search team, clearly show that he should remain incarcerated for life." The report goes on: "Huntley's attitude to his convictions is one of sarcastic nonchalance. He has been warned by staff on several occasions that his behaviour is unacceptable."

The conclusion of the sentencing panel, which includes a psychologistand probation officers, makes it almost certain Huntley will die in jail. The report has been passed to Home Secretary Charles Clarke.

Huntley is 15 months into his sentence for the murders of the girls. He enticed them into his home in Soham, Cambridgeshire, where he was a school caretaker. His girlfriend at the time, Maxine Carr, was jailed for perverting the course of justice but is now free.

According to the Mirror, Huntley was assessed by the panel just before Christmas. He is understood to have spent the past months in the jail's hospital wing trying to find a way out of his "life means life" sentence.

The Mirror claims to have seen a second report detailing his increasingly erratic behaviour in jail. The lifers' manager's report notes he has refused to attend the sexual offender treatment programme, usually a first step on the road to rehabilitation.