Judge allows Maxine Carr to give evidence by video link because of fears for her safety

Maxine Carr will give evidence to a court today by live video link after a judge accepted that producing her in person was likely to lead to a repeat of ugly protests seen a week ago.

The former teaching assistant, who is charged with perverting the course of justice in connection with the deaths of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, will speak from a hi-tech prison suite. The unusual decision by Judge Coleman, who is hearing the case at Peterborough Crown Court, was made yesterday after defence lawyers raised concerns over the safety of Ms Carr.

Outside the magistrates' court in the Cambridgeshire city seven days ago when Ms Carr was remanded on her first court appearance, a crowd of 500, some waving banners calling for the return of capital punishment and shouting abuse, had to be prevented by police from attacking the van carrying her.

Ms Carr, 25, whose fiancé, Ian Huntley, 28, has been charged with the murder of the 10-year-old girls from Soham, is on a suicide watch. Roy James, her solicitor, said she had agreed to the video link and would not be entering a plea to the charge against her "for some time".

He said: "Video links are common practice and should be used wherever possible. It's obviously beneficial as far as Ms Carr is concerned to avoid any similar scenes."

The Crown Court hearing will be in Peterborough magistrates' court, which recently installed the hi-tech camera link as part of a national project. Ms Carr, held at Holloway Prison in north London, will be visible in court on a screen and will be able to view proceedings via a camera in the chamber.

Ministers have backed video link systems as a means of speeding court procedures and cutting the cost of transporting prisoners to hearings where the defendant's attendance is not necessary. Prosecution lawyers said they recognised the "sensitivity" of Ms Carr's case and that producing her in court would mean the deployment of a large number of police to control expected crowds.

The application to use the electronic system was granted after the judge heard representations supporting its use from lawyers for both sides.

In a statement, Judge Coleman said because it was likely to be a short hearing and Ms Carr could not plead to the charge against her, a video appearance was acceptable. Noting defence concerns about her welfare, he said: "Provided a defendant appears on the video link screen, they are present to all intents and purposes. It saves considerable time and expense."

Mr Huntley, who has now lost his job as caretaker at Soham Village College, has not yet appeared in court on the murder charges. He is being examined at Rampton high-security hospital in Notting- hamshire, where he has been detained for 28 days under the Mental Health Act.

Police said yesterday that they had released the dead girls to their families so funerals could be arranged. Autopsies have failed to determine how Holly and Jessica died, and police said the results of toxicology tests could take some time.