Shipman must never be freed from prison, says Blunkett

The mass murderer Harold Shipman should spend the rest of his life in jail because of the "heinous" nature of his crimes, David Blunkett said yesterday.

The Home Secretary's announcement precedes the publication next week of the findings of a public inquiry into the activities of the former doctor, who was convicted in January 2000 of killing 15 of his patients.

In a written parliamentary answer, Mr Blunkett said: "I do not usually comment on the tariff decided in individual life sentence prisoner cases. However, I recognise that Harold Shipman's crimes raise issues of particular public concern and I therefore intend to depart from my usual practice in this case ... These were the most heinous of offences and the grossest breach of the duty of trust he owed as a doctor to the victims, all of whom were trusting patients. Taking all the circumstances into account, I have decided that nothing less than a whole life tariff should apply in this case."

James Purnell, the Labour MP for Stalybridge and Hyde, where Shipman committed many of his crimes, welcomed Mr Blunkett's announcement. He said: "This will be of some comfort to the families of those he murdered at this sensitive time when they await the findings of Dame Janet Smith [the senior judge chairing the public inquiry into the killings]."

Her report is expected to give a figure for the number of patients Shipman murdered. Estimates have suggested it could be in the hundreds.

Mr Blunkett's decision means Shipman, 55, is likely to die behind bars. The cases of "whole life" prisoners are reviewed by the Home Secretary after 25 years. There are then reviews every five years. Only the Home Secretary can review the cases; they are not referred to the Parole Board.

But a recent ruling by the European Court of Human Rights could help "whole life" murderers to strip home secretaries of that power.

Judges at the Strasbourg court ruled that the previous home secretary, Jack Straw, breached the human rights of Dennis Stafford, a convicted murderer, by keeping him in jail longer than recommended by the Parole Board.