VICTIMS of a rapist who won £7 million on the Lotto will not receive a penny in compensation. They learnt yesterday that the six-year deadline to sue for compensation had passed.

But David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, said last night he wants to use new legislation to ensure that victims could make such claims in future.

Mr Blunkett’s statement came amid the uproar over Iorworth Hoare, now serving a life sentence for committing a series of “ferocious and terrifying” attacks, having won Saturday’s Lotto Extra jackpot when on weekend leave. He was rearrested because prison officials decided that his windfall made him a security risk.

He was escorted to a closed prison on Monday and all his future releases on “temporary licence” have been cancelled.

Prison staff will carry out a risk assessment before deciding whether he should return to an open jail. One of the factors is whether it is likely that he might abscond now that he has become a multimillionaire.

Hoare has served 15 years of a life sentence imposed in May 1989 for attempted rape. The minimum term that he had to serve for retribution and deterrence was seven years, but he has remained in jail a further eight years because officials judged it was not safe to release him.

The 52-year-old had spent a year in open conditions as part of long-term preparations for his release, which had been planned for next year.

He has been allowed to work in the community and to visit Middlesbrough, where it was intended that he would live after release on life licence. He bought his winning ticket on Saturday in Middlesbrough, only yards from the bail hostel where he was staying.

There is nothing in law to stop prisoners on release from buying tickets.

Schillings, the firm of solicitors used by Naomi Campbell, the model, and Nicole Kidman, the actress, was called in to help Hoare to deal with the media.

An attempt was made to try to prevent the story being printed in yesterday’s Sun newspaper. But when Schillings was told that Hoare was a convicted rapist, the firm dropped his case.

Hoare’s brother, Rhys Owen, who has not seen him for 20 years, said: “One of the victims was 60 and she must be in her eighties now, if she’s still alive. It must be hard for her having to read all this again. What my brother did was inexcusable.”

Mr Blunkett says in an article in today’s Sun that he wants to use the Domestic Violence and Criminal Victims’ Bill, to be announced in the Queen’s Speech in November, to ensure that convicted criminals who win the Lotto pay some or all of the proceeds to their victims.

And his officials are looking at whether Hoare can be forced to do so.

The Bill will set up a victims fund and officials from the criminal injuries compensation scheme are expected to be given powers to seize money from criminals if they are known to have funds.

Under the law as it stands, victims can make only one application throught the courts for compensation from criminals. However, Mr Blunkett wants to give them a second chance to go back to court if a criminal’s wealth is known to have increased, as would be the case with a Lotto win.

The consultation paper put out by the Home Office on the compensation scheme six months ago specifically raised the question of criminals winning the lottery.

Mr Blunkett says in The Sun that it is important to take action so that compensation can be recovered if an offender wins. “I have the legislation before Parliament to do just that,” he writes. Mr Blunkett adds that he will be talking to the Lottery Commission and Cabinet colleagues to “stop this happening again”.

He said: “I want to find out if a substantial slice of winnings in a case like these can go into the victims’ fund.”

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