Yorkshire Ripper 'will never be freed' - Straw

Mr Straw said there was nothing in the evidence he had seen which would lead the authorities to free the serial killer.

At justice questions in the Commons Tory Julie Kirkbride said a constituent's relative was among Sutcliffe's victims and wanted reassurance "he will never be let out of prison for his heinous crimes".

Mr Straw said: "I would like to provide that reassurance ... ultimately that decision would be a matter for the parole board and the courts and maybe for mental health tribunals.

"But I say to you - and through you to your constituent - that all the evidence that I have seen on this case, and it's a great deal, suggests to me that there are no circumstances in which this man will be released."

Sutcliffe was convicted at the Old Bailey in London in 1981 for the murder of 13 women, and seven counts of attempted murder, in Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and Lancashire.

Now known as Peter Coonan, the 63-year-old has begun a legal process to set a limit on the time he spends in custody.

He is currently being held in Broadmoor in Berkshire after being transferred from prison in 1984 suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.