Jack Straw must not allow the Yorkshire Ripper out, says Conservative MEP
Posted, May 14, 2008 @ 00:00
Former Conservative Home Office Minister, Timothy Kirkhope MEP, has warned Jack Straw MP, the Justice Secretary, that Labour must ensure that it is not trapped by legal loopholes into freeing the Yorkshire Ripper by 2011.
The attempt by Peter Sutcliffe's lawyer to use the Human Rights Act (which incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law) to secure his release could become a serious indictment of Labour's record on violent crime.
The former gravedigger was given 20 life sentences in 1981 and told he would serve a minimum 30 years. But the failure to set a tariff was never formalised because his legal team at the time did not supply all the necessary paperwork.
Mr Kirkhope said:
"Jack Straw has got to be tough on crime. Allowing this application, whenever it is made, will demonstrate that Labour has failed to control violent crime in this country. Straw has a responsibility to avoid danger to the public. It will be a disaster if Labour's Human Rights Act ends up in allowing one of the most disgusting criminals in our history back into the community."