Fury as sick serial killer Levi Bellfield wins battle to MARRY besotted girlfriend in prison while serving life sentence
SERIAL killer Levi Bellfield is to be granted his wish to wed in jail — after prison bosses conceded he would win a human rights case.
The monster, 55, whose victims include Milly Dowler, 13, threatened legal action to tie the knot behind bars with a besotted visitor.
Bellfield, a lifer at Durham’s Frankland Prison, also pleaded discrimination after he was banned from having an engagement ring.
The Sun can reveal he won legal aid costing the taxpayer as much as £30,000, sparking fury.
Bellfield’s plan to marry in jail on human rights grounds is an insult to his victims and their families, cops and MPs said last night.
He is serving two whole life terms for murdering at least three young females.
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And ex-Metropolitan Police officer Michael Hames said: “This is ridiculous and wrong on many levels.
“How can human rights be used to justify this when he took away the human rights of innocent girls and women?
“This makes a nonsense of the law, and the sooner it is changed the better.”
The monster, whose victims include Milly Dowler, 13, has been threatening legal action to marry his besotted partner after popping the question during one of her visits.
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The Sun can reveal he has won a bid to be granted up to £30,000 in legal aid after his lawyers cited the European Convention on Human Rights and the 1983 Marriage Act.
Ministers have vowed to change the law to prevent prisoners on whole-life terms from marrying - but accept it will not come in time to prevent Bellfield getting hitched.
The Sun can also reveal whining Bellfield has claimed “discrimination” after he was barred from receiving an engagement ring at Frankland Prison, County Durham.
He has also demanded video calls with his bride-to-be and the right to have his picture taken with her.
One government source said: “The sad fact is that — with the way the law stands — there are no grounds to stop him getting married.
“So it will go ahead and they are deciding when to tell Bellfield they are approving the decision.
“It sticks in the craw — but at least it would avoid it going to court.”
However the news his “grotesque” bid is likely to be approved sparked a wave of angry disbelief.
Tory MP Alec Shelbrooke said: “This is a disgusting insult to the victims and their families.
“This is a man who took away the human rights of young girls and women, including the right to live their lives and marry.
“Yet he is demanding the right to do so using human rights law.
“The Justice Secretary needs to move as quickly as possible to get this legislation through and make sure that no other people this evil can exploit this situation again.”
Former Met Police DCI Colin Sutton — who finally nailed Bellfield — said he felt “sympathy” for the bride-to-be but knows the evil former bouncer can never be released.
He said: “It’s an absolute absurdity that someone like Bellfield, who is in prison forever for crimes against women, can use the law to marry. It needs to be changed.
“The problem is that human rights legislation in this country often works in favour of people like him ahead of victims and the general public.
“I feel some sympathy for this woman as I know he will be able to exert coercive control but am pleased he will never be freed so he can physically harm her.”
The latest development comes after jail chiefs kicked his wedding bid “into the long grass”, hoping the law would change.
Former Justice Minister Dominic Raab launched a Victims Bill in March, which will bar inmates on whole-life tariffs marrying in jail.
However the legislation will not be passed in time to stop Bellfield.
The Sun first revealed Bellfield’s engagement in May 2022, after he popped the question during a jail visit.
That sparked outrage, with then-PM Boris Johnson saying he was “sickened and appalled” by the planned jail wedding.
We then revealed in March this year how he launched legal action after his bid to marry was blocked.
His solicitors fired off a letter saying it was “unlawful” to delay plans after his application was first filed in January 2021.
They threatened a Judicial Review and slapped a 15-day response deadline, while referring to Bellfield by his Muslim name, Yusuf Rahim.
The letter said the Justice Secretary “will be aware that the Marriage Act 1983 enables prisoners to marry in their place of detention.
“The governor has to be mindful of the claimant’s Article 12 (of the European Convention on Human Rights Act) rights.
“It does not appear there has been any decision made whatsoever.
“In the circumstances it is submitted that the delay in considering the application is unlawful.”
Lawyers for the Ministry of Justice initially said they needed more time — and then told Bellfield’s legal team to launch the review.
But new Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has since received government legal guidance saying there are no grounds to block the marriage.
The government source added: “Alex Chalk doesn’t want this wedding to go ahead but his hands appear to be tied.”
A separate source added: “Bellfield’s case is outrageous and demands things like the right to wear an engagement ring and also video calls.
“He won’t win on those aspects, and rings are barred across the prison estate for safety reasons.
“But the main thing is the right to marry, and it looks like he’s going to win that argument.
“The only card the prison and the Ministry of Justice could play is if they said it was unsafe for the woman, who could be the victim of manipulation and coercive control.”
It was unclear when hammer killer Bellfield hopes to wed — and if his partner will even go through with it.
A source close to him said: “Levi seems to like the drama of the fight more than the idea of actually getting married.”
Bellfield was convicted in 2008 of killing Marsha McDonnell, 19, and Amelie Delagrange, 22, plus the attempted murder of 18-year-old Kate Sheedy in South West London — all in 2003 and 2004.
At the time, detectives said he was likely to have been behind dozens of other attacks.
Three years later he was nailed for the 2002 killing of schoolgirl Milly, who was abducted in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey.
Last month Bellfield was quizzed in prison over the unsolved 1999 disappearance of student Elizabeth Chau, 19, from Ealing, West London.
He has confessed to abducting and murdering her, drawing a map for police pinpointing where he claims her body is buried.
Bellfield is also being investigated by the Criminal Cases Review Commission over the 1996 murders of Dr Lin Russell, 45, and daughter Meghan, six, in Chillenden, Kent.
Michael Stone — who maintains his innocence — was convicted despite no forensic evidence.
Bellfield has since confessed to the killings.
David Spencer, research director at the Centre for Crime Prevention, said: “It’s horrific that an offender such as Bellfield is allowed to get married, not least because of the extent and nature of his crimes.
“The fact the taxpayer is funding his bid is even more grotesque.
“Criminals of his type have forfeited their rights and if the law currently permits him to be married then that should be changed.
“His time behind bars should be spent reflecting on his horrific crimes, not enjoying home comforts.”
Other lags who have married include serial hostage-taker Charles Bronson in HMP Woodhill, Milton Keynes, in 2001, and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, at South East London’s Belmarsh last March.
Justice department sources said last night they had explored all legal avenues to block the marriage but failed to do so due to current laws.
Jail marriages can only be blocked for “logistical” or practical reasons by governors.
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A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Under current laws there are no legal routes to block this marriage and we recognise the pain and anger this outcome will bring to his victims’ families.
“It is what has driven our plans to stop prisoners on whole-life orders from marrying in prison through our new Victims and Prisoners Bill – ensuring this never happens again.”
THE SUN SAYS
FEW killers have been as remorselessly evil as Levi Bellfield. He deserves to die in jail alone, without hope.
Instead he will be allowed the comfort of marriage thanks to warped European human rights laws.
We must hope that Bellfield's "fiancée" finally spares a thought for his female victims and their families.
And backs out.