Ian Huntley: ian huntley remains in hospital after prison attack
ian huntley remains in hospital in a serious condition after being attacked by another inmate at a high security prison workshop. Police say the 52-year-old has suffered significant head trauma and is undergoing treatment as a criminal inquiry continues.
Ian Huntley attack details
The assault took place at a prison workshop at HMP Frankland, the high security prison in County Durham. Huntley was found lying in a pool of blood after being bludgeoned with a makeshift weapon; some early headlines described the prisoner who struck him as using a metal pole or metal spike and claimed the ambush left his head "split in two". One tabloid ran the headline "I've done it! I've done it!", quoting the apparent words shouted by the prisoner who allegedly struck Huntley with a metal pole.
Hospital condition and treatment
Huntley, 52, has suffered significant head trauma and is undergoing treatment. In an update on Friday Durham Constabulary said there had been "no change in the 52-year-old man's condition overnight - he remains in hospital in a serious condition".
Suspect and his convictions
Triple killer Anthony Russell, 43, is suspected of carrying out the attack. Russell is serving a whole-life prison term for murdering Julie Williams, her son David Williams and Nicole McGregor, whose body was found in woodland near Leamington Spa. He had admitted those murders during a week-long spree in October 2020. Police earlier said a male prisoner in his mid-40s suspected of carrying out the attack was "in detention" but had not been arrested "at this stage" and that a police investigation is under way with detectives liaising with staff at the prison.
Prison history and past attacks
HMP Frankland, nicknamed Monster Mansion, houses some of the most dangerous criminals including murderers and rapists. This is not the first time Huntley has been attacked in custody: he was slashed across the throat in 2010 and needed 21 stitches, and in 2005 a convicted murderer threw boiling water over him at HMP Wakefield.
Newspaper headlines and reaction
Early editions of Friday's papers came out before the result of the Gorton and Denton by-election, with the tabloids focusing on the prison attack. One headline bundle included the phrases 'Invisible welfare state' and 'Huntley fights for life'. Another early front page quoted a source saying "the attacker got him when he least expected it", while a further front page said Huntley was "close to death". Papers also carried other national stories: one warned hospitals and care homes face "an impending car crash" as research from Home Office figures suggests the number of "foreign nurses granted entry to Britain has fallen by 93% over three years"; another said the lobbying company founded by Lord Mandelson had discovered a "significant" tranche of his business emails are missing after Global Counsel conducted an internal audit, and that the government agreed this month to release messages relating to his time as the British ambassador to the US; it was also noted that Lord Mandelson stopped being able to access his email address last February and that Global Counsel went into administration last week. Separate coverage said peers have been accused of sabotaging assisted dying legislation in England and Wales and quoted Baroness Berger as saying supporters are "attacking Lords who are only doing their job"; one account added that about 50 MPs in favour of assisted dying would try to force the issue into law by putting their names forward for private member's bills. A financial paper featured a picture of Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae in matching leather jackets at a military parade, saying the appearance had fuelled speculation she is being groomed to become the eventual leader.
Context of Huntley's convictions
Huntley is serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 40 years for the murders of schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in August 2002. In the commuter town of Soham in Cambridgeshire, the two ten-year-old girls had been at a family barbeque and were believed to have been on their way to buy sweets when Huntley, then aged 28, lured them back to his home and killed them. The photo of the girls in their red Manchester United football kits remains etched in many memories.
Police continue to investigate the attack at HMP Frankland, with detectives liaising with prison staff as Huntley remains in hospital in a serious condition.
