Taxpayers have footed a £2,000 bill for the funeral of Soham murderer Ian Huntley, who died in February after an alleged assault at HMP Frankland. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) confirmed it spent £1,915 on the cremation, which included a £265 environmentally-friendly 'jute natural coffin'.
Huntley's service was attended by no mourners. The costs comprised £625 for professional services, £275 for transporting his body from hospital, £65 for a cremation casket, and £100 for staff attendance and supervision. The MoJ routinely covers basic funeral costs for prisoners, making up to £3,000 available.
A petition urging the government not to use public money for the funeral attracted 64,000 signatures. Huntley's ashes will be handed to his mother, Lynda Richards, who visited him in hospital before his life support was withdrawn.
Huntley, 52, was serving a life sentence for the 2002 murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham, Cambridgeshire. He was found guilty in 2003 and given a minimum term of 40 years. Fellow prisoner Anthony Russell, 43, has been charged with his murder.
