Levi Bellfield’s legal bid to marry his girlfriend from behind bars has been approved after prison chiefs conceded he would win a human rights case.
The 55-year-old, who killed three people between 2002 and 2004, is serving his life sentence at Durham’s Frankland Prison.
Bellfield threatened to launch a human rights case after getting engaged to a woman in her forties.
He claimed he was being discriminated against after he was initially prevented from tying the knot and was not allowed to wear an engagement ring.
Bellfield threatened to launch a human rights case after getting engaged to a woman in her forties
PA
Former Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab vowed to block Bellfield’s wedding during his stint as Justice Secretary.
Ministers had pledged to impose a ban on prisoners tying the knot.
Raab brought forward the Victims Bill in March which would have seen inmates on whole-life tariffs being blocked from getting married while incarcerated.
Police and MPs claimed permitting a wedding would be an “insult to the victims and their families”.
Bellfield killed 13-year-old Milly Dowler
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Tory MP Alec Shelbrooke said: “This is a disgusting insult to the victims and their families.”
The former Defence Minister added: “This is a man who took away the human rights of young girls and women, including the right to live their lives and marry.”
However, a Government source conceded: "The sad fact is that — with the way the law stands — there are no grounds to stop him getting married.
“So it will go ahead and they are deciding when to tell Bellfield they are approving the decision.
Metropolitan Police undated handout photo of Marsha McDonnell
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“It sticks in the craw — but at least it would avoid it going to court.”
Bellfield is in prison serving two whole-life orders for the murders of 13-year-old Milly Dowler in 2002, 19-year-old Marsha McDonnell in 2003 and 22-year-old French student Amelie Delagrange in 2004.
He was also found guilty of the attempted murder of 18-year-old Kate Sheedy in the same year.
Bellfield’s lawyers argued that depriving the serial killer of a wedding was in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights and the 1983 Marriage Act.
Undated picture released by the Metropolitan Police of Amelie Delagrange
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He was reportedly introduced to his now fiancee by fellow serial killer Peter Sutcliffe.
Bellfield struck up a friendship with the Yorkshire Ripper in HMP Frankland before Sutcliffe’s death in 2020.
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk, who succeeded Raab in the coveted Cabinet role in April, received legal advice which indicated he could not block Bellfield’s marriage.
A source told The Sun: “The only card the prison and the Ministry of Justice could play is if they said it was unsafe for the woman, who could be the victim of manipulation and coercive control.”
Dominic Raab previously vowed to block Bellfield's marriage claim
PAHowever, Bellfield’s fiancee previously said: “He is not a monster. Yes he has a bad past, but 17 years in prison changes a person.”
According to The Mirror, she added: “He has changed, he has remorse, and there are always reasons a person goes wrong in life.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “The application is being considered in the usual way.
“In future, our new Victims and Prisoners Bill will stop prisoners serving whole-life orders from marrying or forming a civil partnership in prison.”
