Peter Sutcliffe talks openly about vile murders and confesses to unsolved crimes in new documentary

Peter Sutcliffe was found guilty of 13 murders and seven attempted murders in 1981

‘The Ripper Speaks: The Lost Tapes’ features recordings of conversations between the serial killer and a woman who was trained by journalists.

Sutcliffe, who died at the age of 74 in November, can also be heard discussing brutal attacks which he was never prosecuted for and admitting that he planned to kill 24-year-old Olivia Reivers on the night he was caught by police.

Investigator Mark Williams-Thomas, who presents the Channel 5 documentary, said: “What we get here, for the very first time, is an insight into him being as truthful as he can be.

Twelve of Peter Sutcliffe's victims.

Top row (left to right): Wilma McCann, Emily Jackson, Irene Richardson, Patricia Atkinson, Jayne McDonald and Jean Jordan.

Bottom row: Yvonne Pearson, Helen Rytka, Vera Millward, Josephine Whitaker, Barbara Leach and Jacqueline Hill. — Twelve of Peter Sutcliffe's victims. Top row (left to right): Wilma McCann, Emily Jackson, Irene Richardson, Patricia Atkinson, Jayne McDonald and Jean Jordan. Bottom row: Yvonne Pearson, Helen Rytka, Vera Millward, Josephine Whitaker, Barbara Leach and Jacqueline Hill.

“The man was responsible for decades of fear for people of the North of England and now the tables have been turned on him and he’s being used by us, to try and find out what had gone on. I think it's an incredibly insightful moment.

“She was very good and we worked really hard with her to make sure that when she asked questions he didn't feel like she was asking questions. It was just general chat, so he was very relaxed.

“I think for the first time, we've probably got as close as you can get with him. It’s the truth in terms of how he sees the truth.”

The 13 victims of Peter Sutcliffe: remembering who they were

Mr Williams-Thomas has listened to hundreds of hours of recordings and said the former Bingley lorry driver, who was found guilty of 13 murders and seven attempted murders in 1981, actually showed some remorse.

“There's an element of remorse to a degree, a very small degree, but overwhelmingly a feeling that he's been slightly hard done by,” said Mr Williams-Thomas.

“He always thought that he would be released from jail.

“When he compares himself to other people, he considers himself not to be as bad, which is quite shocking really given the brutality of his crimes.

“We deal, in real detail, about whether or not he was mad or bad. He went to jail having been diagnosed as a schizophrenic and he was therefore sent to Broadmoor.

“He should never have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, and should never have been sent to Broadmoor. He should have gone to mainstream prison.

“He's not mad, he’s simply very bad. He's a psychopath, who was always in control of his behaviour.”

The documentary, which airs on Channel 5 at 10pm tomorrow, features a recording of Sutcliffe confessing that he attacked Marcella Claxton in Leeds in 1976, even though he was never convicted of that crime.

He also admitted that he attacked 14-year-old schoolgirl Tracy Browne with a hammer in Silsden in August 1975, and left her fighting for her life with a fractured skull.

The serial killer died at the University Hospital of North Durham November 13 after contracting Covid-19.

Sutcliffe, who changed his name to Coonan, was serving a life sentence at HMP Frankland and was suffering from heart disease, diabetes and kidney disease.