The families of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman today expressed hope that Ian Huntley would never be released from prison after a judge ruled that he must serve a minimum of 40 years for the schoolgirls' murder.

Mr Justice Moses stopped short of imposing a whole life tariff but said that there was "little or no hope" that Huntley, who will be at least 70 before he is eligible for parole, would eventually be freed.

He said: "I have not ordered that this defendant will not spend the rest of his life in prison.The order means that the Parole Board cannot even consider his release on licence until the defendant has spent 40 years in prison. The order I make offers little or no hope of the defendant’s eventual release."

Jessica’s parents Leslie and Sharon Chapman and her sisters Rebecca, 19, and Alison, 17, sat alongside Holly's parents Kevin and Nicola to watch as the sentence was announced at the High Court in London.

They have campaigned for Huntley to remain in prison "forever" and said today in a statement that they hoped Huntley would never be free, for the sake of Holly and Jessica's siblings.

"Ian Huntley has today been told he must spend a minimum of 40 years in prison for the cold-blooded killing of our daughters. We understand judges can only sentence on the facts of the case put before them. But make no mistake, we hope he spends the rest of his natural life in prison.

"As parents, we may or may not be around in 40 years' time, but our children will. They like us continue to feel the pain of their sister's murder each and every day. That should not be forgotten. That pain does not go away."

Judge Moses said that in reaching his decision he had taken into consideration personal statements from both victims’ families and representations from Huntley’s lawyers. He said that the murders of the two young girls, which he has previously said he could imagine "few worse crimes", did not fulfil the most serious criteria to necessitate a whole life term.

He said that it could not be proved that Huntley had deliberately enticed the girls to the house where they were killed and that although it was a 'likelihood' there was no evidence that they were sexually assaulted.

He said: "The two children were vulnerable and obviously trusted the defendant because of his position in the school as caretaker and relationship with (his accomplice Maxine) Carr.

"In particular, he must have killed one of the girls to avoid that girl disclosing his murder of the first. He must have killed her when she knew what he had done to her friend. He concealed and attempted to destroy the bodies of both his victims."

The judge added: "His actions in pretending to exhibit innocent concern after the murders demonstrate his lack of remorse."

Huntley was given two life sentences when he was convicted of killing the schoolgirls at the Old Bailey in December 2003. But no minimum term was set because the legislation which covers "whole life tariffs", under which prisoners are imprisoned until they die, was under review. There are currently around 20 murderers serving whole life tariffs.

The Criminal Justice Act 2003 says that the whole life tariffs can be set in cases of "multiple murders that show a substantial degree of premeditation, involve abduction of the victim prior to the killing or are sexual or sadistic." The murder of a child following abduction can also draw a whole life sentence.

In a book about the tragedy, Mr Wells clearly set out his feelings, writing: "I can only pray to the bottom of my boots that common-sense prevails and life must mean life for Huntley... They must never let him out."

The judgement was nevertheless welcomed in Soham, the Cambrdigeshire community shattered by the schoolgirls' deaths.

John Powley, county councillor for Soham and a governor of Soham Village College, said: "I think he has got every year he deserves. I hope this means he will spend the rest of his life behind bars where he needs to be. And in the light of the fact we do not have the death penalty any longer, a sentence of this length had to be expected."

Huntley has been held at Wakefield top security prison since being found guilty. He has never admitted killing them and at his trial insisted that they drowned by accident in his bathroom.

A year after his arrest, Huntley tried to commit suicide by swallowing anti-depressants that he had hoarded in teabags. During his imprisonment he is believed to have threatened to kill himself on several occasions. A leaked prison report in April said he showed a "sarcastic nonchalance" towards his crimes.

Holly and Jessica went missing on the afternoon of August 4, 2002, in matching Manchester United shirts. Their disappearance prompted an enormous manhunt around the village of Soham, in Cambridgeshire, and an appeal from David Beckham that the girls return home.

During the search, Huntley and his girlfriend, Maxine Carr, were interviewed by journalists. Huntley wept as he described the girls passing by his house.

Huntley and Carr were arrested on August 17, hours before the bodies of the two girls were found by a gamekeeper in a ditch near Lakenheath, in Suffolk. Carr was arrested for perverting the course of justice and later found guilty of providing Huntley with an alibi on the night of the murders. She has since been released from prison under a different identity

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Charles blazes trail as sun king
• Thalidomiders win payout 50 years on
• Libel gag on talk of 'medical hurricane'