Moors murderer to stay in mental hospital after losing bid to return to jail

Moors murderer Ian Brady will stay in a top-security hospital near Liverpool, following a tribunal's refusal yesterday to let him go back to prison where he wants to starve himself to death.

In its judgment, the tribunal said Brady “continues to suffer from a mental disorder which is of a nature and degree which makes it appropriate for him to continue to receive medical treatment.

“It is necessary for his health and safety and for the protection of other persons that he should receive such treatment in hospital and that appropriate medical treatment is available for him.”

Brady, now aged 75, has been held in Ashworth since he was transferred there from prison in 1985.

He was convicted with Myra Hindley of the so-called Moors murders in 1966.

The Scot, who claims to have been on hunger-strike for over a decade, is frequently fed by a gastric tube through his nose. He insisted that he was not mentally ill and should be sent back to prison.

Victims’ families have criticised giving Brady the opportunity to “grandstand” at the mental health tribunal, while others described the hearing as a “circus” and a “complete waste of taxpayers’ money”.

Victims
The tribunal was the first time Brady has been seen in public since the 1980s, when he was taken back to Saddleworth Moor in the search for the bodies of two of his victims, and the first time he had spoken in public since being jailed for life at Chester Assizes in 1966.

Brady, whose legal costs are estimated to be about £250,000 – and paid by the taxpayer, as he gets legal aid – has the right to challenge the decision, which would require a further hearing at an upper tribunal.