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Ian Huntley Given Direct Cremation at Cost of £1,915 in Line With Ministry of Justice Policy for Deceased Prisoners
The Ministry of Justice spent £1,915 on the direct unattended cremation of Soham murderer Ian Huntley, who died in February after an attack at HMP Frankland. He was cremated in an eco-friendly jute coffin selected as the most cost-effective option. His ashes are to be returned next month to his mother, Lynda Richards, his next of kin.
May 9, 9:16 AM·2m read1 source
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Ian Huntley was cremated in a £265 eco-friendly jute natural coffin at a service with no mourners present, The Independent reported. The Ministry of Justice spent £1,915 on the arrangements for the 52-year-old, who died in hospital after being attacked at HMP Frankland in February. An inquest last month heard that Huntley suffered a fatal head injury from a metal bar at the high-security prison.
He died at Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle after his life support machine was switched off and he was left in a vegetative state. The Ministry of Justice spent £625 on professional services for the cremation, £275 on the transfer of his body from hospital, £65 on a cremation casket and £100 on staff attendance and supervision.
The fee for the direct unattended cremation was £585, bringing the total to £1,915.
A jute coffin was selected because it was the most cost-effective option. The Ministry of Justice offers up to £3,000 towards prisoners’ funeral costs, with money paid directly to the funeral director. It does not cover wakes, headstones or burial plots.
A petition signed by 64,000 people called for the Ministry of Justice not to use taxpayer funds for Huntley’s funeral. Previous prisoners whose funeral costs were paid by the state include Peter Sutcliffe in 2020 and Raymond Morris in 2014. Huntley’s ashes are due to be returned to his mother, Lynda Richards, next month.
Lynda Richards is his next of kin and visited him in hospital where he was in a vegetative state after his life support machine was switched off. Huntley murdered Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002. The girls were 10 years old when he attacked them after they left a family barbecue to buy sweets in Soham, Cambridgeshire, on August 4 2002.
