Blunkett accused as Maxine Carr is denied early release

David Blunkett was accused of capitulating to the "lynch- mob mentality" yesterday after the Prison Service used new powers to keep Maxine Carr behind bars.

The former fiancée of the Soham murderer Ian Huntley was informed that her application for early release had been refused because it would undermine public confidence.

Using new powers introduced by the Home Secretary specifically with Carr's case in mind, Martin Narey wrote to Carr informing her that she would not be allowed out under the electronic tagging scheme.

In a move castigated as a "politically driven" ploy to save the Home Secretary from embarrassment, Mr Narey, the head of the home detention curfew (HDC) scheme, wrote: "Although not charged with murder, your offence was considered so closely related to the events surrounding the murder of the two girls and the police investigation that followed, that you were tried jointly with Ian Huntley.

"Your conviction for conspiring with Ian Huntley to pervert the course of justice connects you indelibly with this case and with the public outcry that has accompanied it. For this reason, the possibility of your early release on HDC has attracted, and continues to attract, huge adverse publicity."

Carr, 26, a former teaching assistant in Holly Wells' and Jessica Chapman's class, had been put forward for the tagging scheme by Ed Willetts, the governor of Holloway prison in north London.

The possibility of her early release was condemned in certain sections of the media. In a poll by The Sun newspaper, 14,979 people - 96 per cent of the respondents - voted to "keep Maxine caged".

Four weeks ago Mr Blunkett personally intervened, granting Mr Narey new powers to overrule prison governors' decisions on the grounds that it would undermine public confidence in the tagging scheme.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of the human rights group Liberty, said yesterday: "David Blunkett's public pronouncements on this case ensured there was little prospect of Maxine Carr's release being authorised. In future we need to ensure that sentencing decisions are not influenced by either politicians or the media."

Despite reports that Carr would be given police protection, Mr Narey's letter added that her own safety was a factor in his rejection of her application. It said: "There are two reasons for my decision. The first reason relates to the risks to your safety at the HDC address you have proposed. The second reason relates to the issue of public confidence in the HDC scheme."

Although Carr's lawyers said only that they were disappointed by the refusal, others criticised the political impetus behind it. Canon Michael Hunter, the rector of St James' Church in Carr's home town of Grimsby, said: "It's a sad day for justice and shows flaws in the British legal system. It would seem that the lynch-mob mentality within public opinion has prevailed and the Home Office has buckled under its weight."

Jason Shepherd, deputy editor of the Prisons Handbook, added: "Maxine Carr is exactly the kind of first-time, non-violent, non-sexual offender that the scheme was designed for. It's shameful that Martin Narey has singled her out for separate treatment."

But Norman Brennan, chairman of the Victims of Crime Trust, insisted the resolution was a "just and right" one. "It's a sensible decision and the Home Secretary has avoided yet another embarrassment," he said. "We should all remember that it's the victims' families who serve the life sentence, something she will never face."

Carr was convicted at the Old Bailey in December of lying to police in an attempt to protect Huntley. She was sentenced to three-and-a-half years, but the fact that she had been in custody since her arrest in August 2002 means that she will have completed half her sentence by mid-May. She became eligible for early release under the HDC scheme in January.