Myra Hindley: boost for her campaign

Lords Ruling Challenges Life Sentence Tariffs

The ruling raises the question of whether the decision that the moors murderer, Myra Hindley, must stay in jail for the rest of her life can be upheld.

The ruling came in the case of John Pierson, who shot his sleeping mother and father at their remote farmhouse near Oswestry, Shropshire in September 1984. He received a double life sentence for the killings, described as "horrifying and apparently motiveless".

By a three-two majority, the Law Lords said the former Home Secretary, Michael Howard, was wrong to have increased from 15 to 20 years the minimum period Pierson should serve before he could be considered for release.

The Lords said that although the Home Secretary did have the power to set a minimum tariff, once that had been fixed and communicated to the prisoner, it could be changed only in exceptional circumstances.

Lord Hope of Craighead said a Home Secretary could not increase the term simply because he disagreed with his predecessor. Lord Goff of Chieveley and Lord Steyn also ruled that Mr Howard had exceeded his powers. Lord Browne-Wilkinson and Lord Lloyd of Berwick gave dissenting judgments.

The Home Office is studying the ruling and the BBC's legal affairs correspondents say the details will need to be considered carefully before its significance for other cases can be determined.

Our Legal Affairs Correspondent Jon Silverman explains the background to the case

On the face of it, however, it gives hope for those campaigning against the increased tariff set for Myra Hindley. She is challenging Mr Howard's decision that her life sentence must mean life.