Within the critical care unit of Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary, a patient bay has remained shrouded behind closed curtains for more than a week. Amid the steady hum of ventilators and the gentle beeps of heart monitors lies a patient unlike any other on the ward.
An Anonymous Patient with Unusual Visitors
Unusually for this unit, which typically restricts visitors to two at a time, this patient has consistently had at least three individuals stationed by his bedside around the clock. Stranger still, the unconscious middle-aged man has been admitted under the pseudonym 'Anonymous'.
While other patients on the ward suffer from serious head or spinal injuries, the man concealed behind the curtain is one of Britain's most reviled figures: Ian Huntley, the 52-year-old double child killer serving a minimum 40-year sentence.
A Brutal Attack Leaves Huntley in Critical Condition
Huntley lies in an induced coma after being brutally bludgeoned over the head with a metal pole nine days ago during a workshop session at HMP Frankland. Reports suggest he may have been blinded in the assault and could be brain dead, with neurosurgeons uncertain about his prognosis.
A prison source revealed: "It's still touch and go whether he will even survive beyond the next few weeks. But if he does live, there is no way he will ever return to Frankland."
Soaring Costs for a Notorious Inmate
The financial burden of Huntley's care is staggering. Keeping him under guard in his current immobile state is costing approximately £16,000 in overtime weekly. A high-profile Category A inmate like Huntley requires three prison officers and a prison manager at his hospital bed at all times.
Staff are paid £24 per hour for this overtime, which many prison officers consider the "holy grail" of assignments. "Normally a hospital bed watch is the best possible overtime – you can just chat, watch Netflix and eat pizza so everyone wants to do it," a prison source explained. "On one hand this will be even easier as Huntley is in a coma – but then who really wants to spend their days and nights beside one of the most despicable men in the country?"
Potential Long-Term Care Costs
Should Huntley survive his injuries, his long-term care could prove even more expensive. Sources indicate that treating him in a secure hospital could cost taxpayers up to £300,000 annually – significantly more than the £85,000 it cost to incarcerate him at HMP Frankland.
There are only three secure hospitals capable of accepting Category A prisoners: Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire, Rampton in Nottinghamshire, and Ashworth in Merseyside. Ashworth, considered the most likely destination for Huntley should he leave the Royal Victoria alive, offers a stark contrast to prison life with wards named after literary figures and activities including music, art, pottery, gardening, and cooking classes.
The Attack That Changed Everything
The violent incident occurred shortly after 9 AM on Thursday, February 26, at HMP Frankland in County Durham. Another prisoner, reportedly triple murderer and rapist Anthony Russell, attacked Huntley with a 3-foot metal pole snatched from a recycling crate, beating him repeatedly about the head.
After the assault, Russell allegedly shouted: "I've done it, I've done it. I've killed him, I've killed him." Huntley was stabilized at the scene by medical professionals but was too critically injured for air transport, requiring an ambulance with an armed police escort to transport him to the Royal Victoria Infirmary.
A History of Targeted Violence
This was not Huntley's first experience of prison violence. Since his conviction in 2003 for the murders of ten-year-old Soham schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, Huntley has been beaten, burned, stabbed, and slashed by fellow inmates on multiple occasions.
In 2010, armed robber Damien Fowkes nearly killed Huntley by slashing his neck with a makeshift shank. Seven years later, another attack occurred with a razor blade fixed to a toothbrush handle. Prison sources reveal that inmates would frequently tamper with Huntley's food, prompting him to subsist on prison shop purchases of fast food, chocolate, and crisps instead.
Reactions and Reflections
Back at Frankland, news of the attack on one of the prison's most hated inmates was met with jubilation. "After news went around that Huntley had been attacked there was cheering all around the wing," a source reported. "Even now most mornings someone is shouting, 'Is Huntley dead yet?', which is then followed by cheers and laughter."
Huntley's own estranged daughter, Samantha Bryan, 27, expressed that she was "glad" about the attack and believed her father deserved the vicious assault.
Questions About Prison Security
Former prison governor and senior Home Office official Ian Acheson has raised serious questions about whether prison management could have prevented the attack through basic common sense. "It is not Huntley's squalid life we should be reflecting on, rather the state of a high security prison where such extreme violence is becoming worryingly frequent," he stated.
Acheson questioned whether Huntley should have been in the workshop at all, given his history of being targeted, and whether there was any prior history between Huntley and his alleged assailant. He suggested that senior managers sometimes override security warnings due to stretched resources, prioritizing keeping prisoners "busy" over keeping unsuitable inmates separated.
The Irony of Care and Compassion
There exists a grim irony that Huntley will receive far more mercy than he showed his young victims. He will benefit from the best possible care from dedicated NHS nurses and brain specialists during these critical weeks and potentially for the remainder of his life.
Yet keeping a severely disabled and notorious child killer alive – and protected from himself and others – will demand enormous resources. With precious NHS funds and hundreds of thousands in taxpayer money being diverted to sustain one of modern history's most reviled figures following an attack by another violent criminal, society must carefully consider what it chooses to celebrate.
