Convicted incestuous rapist Josef Fritzl has threatened to move to the UK and "roam free on the Highlands of Scotland" if he is ever released from prison, a shocking interview has revealed.
Now 88, Fritzl - who has changed his name to Mayrhoff - raped his daughter Elisabeth thousands of times and held her captive for 24 years, fathering seven children.
He has been imprisoned in Austria, where the offences took place, since 2009 - but is now eligible to apply for release.
Fritzl has eyed up the "spectacular scenery" of Scotland as a potential destination to live out the remainder of his days after watching a Shakespeare documentary while behind bars.
The vile rapist said he would prefer to emigrate to the UK and "roam free" in the Highlands than stay in Austria
PA/Getty
He said: "I was filled with this wonderful, uplifting feeling, this sense of inspiration for this fantastic culture.
"And it was then I knew that when I get released, it is not Austria I want to stay... rather, I want to emigrate to the UK.
"Above all, I want to roam free on the wild Highlands of Scotland," he said, according to the Sun.
Fritzl added: "For me, the lush green fields of Wales are also very, very appealing. But the main thing is - it’s to the United Kingdom that I am headed."
READ MORE:
Fritzl's monstrous crimes were uncovered in 2008, and he was incarcerated the following year
Reuters
Reacting to his comments, Home Secretary James Cleverly said: "This monster is never coming to our country.
"Any attempt to travel to the UK will be refused - as it would be for anyone convicted of serious sex offences like this."
In reply to Cleverly, Reform UK MP for Ashfield Lee Anderson added: "Unless he jumps on a small boat in which case he'll be in the Ritz Hotel by tea time."
Fritzl's vile crimes were uncovered in 2008, and he was incarcerated the following year for incest, rape, enslavement, coercion and the murder, by neglect, of his newborn son in a dungeon he secretly built under his house.
It was only due to an anonymous tipoff when Fritzl brought his daughter to hospital that authorities realised something was wrong - Austrian police then took the pair into custody where she revealed her decades of imprisonment at her father's hands.
Earlier this year, Fritzl's move to a regular prison from a psychiatric facility had been blocked by an Austrian court - though it sent the case back to a lower court to establish more facts before making a new decision.
Fritzl is suffering from advancing dementia, but he was able to follow the brief proceedings in January when his conditional release was ordered, his lawyer Astrid Wagner told reporters after that hearing.
If moved to a non-psychiatric prison, the 88-year-old would be able to submit a request to be released from prison altogether.
