THE Ministry of Justice has said it will “vigorously defend” a claim for compensation being launched by Soham killer Ian Huntley.
THE Ministry of Justice has said it will “vigorously defend” a claim for compensation being launched by Soham killer Ian Huntley.
The 36-year-old had his throat slashed in an attack at the high security HMP Frankland Prison in County Durham in March and is understood to be suing the Prison Service for failing in its duty of care to him.
Several campaign groups have hit out at the move however, and the MoJ has vowed to defend the action.
A spokesman for the ministry said: “Ian Huntley is bringing a claim against the Ministry of Justice following an assault by another prisoner. The claim is currently being vigorously defended.”
Huntley was ordered to serve two life sentences in 2003 for the murders of Soham schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. He has been attacked on several occasions since being sent to prison and has reportedly tried to take his own life.
It is understood that the former school caretaker is seeking �20,000 compensation for injuries suffered in the alleged attack and up to �60,000 in damages for failure by the prison service to uphold its duty of care, though no official figures have been released.
By comparison, the families of the two school girls were awarded �11,000 compensation each by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.
Norman Brennan, from the Victims of Crime Trust, said: “If Huntley had the slightest remorse for the terrible murder of these two girls he would drop the case immediately and get on with serving his sentence, and just be thankful it’s not pre-1967 when he may well have been sentenced to the hangman’s noose.”
Colin Moses, chairman of the Prison Officers Association (POA), said that a “compensation culture” had emerged among prison inmates in recent years that had risen to “disgraceful levels” in comparison with the amounts received by soldiers injured in Afghanistan.
He also said that POA members tried their utmost to protect every inmate, regardless of their crime,
“It was my members who saved Mr Huntley after this attack; it will be my members who continue to save him if he is attacked again,” he said.
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