"Sick, twisted and demented"

THE sick history of Ian Huntley preying on children was revealed yesterday as he began a life sentence for the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

British Home Secretary David Blunkett announced an independent inquiry into how Huntley was able to get a job as a school caretaker despite seven previous allegations of him sexually assaulting schoolgirls and two adults.

The case revealed frightening deficiencies in the system for vetting people who work with children. The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children last night warned that our vetting systems are grossly inadequate compared to the procedures in Britain and Northern Ireland.

Jessica's father Leslie Chapman said Huntley was "a time bomb just ready to go off and unfortunately both our girls were in the wrong place and at the wrong time".

Huntley's former girlfriend, Janine Oliver, described him as "sick, twisted and demented".

Leslie Chapman made no attempt to conceal his hatred as he spat: "I hope that the next time I will have to see him will be like we saw our daughters, and it will be in a coffin."

Huntley, 29, showed no emotion as he received two life sentences for the double murder of the 10-year-olds.

His accomplice and ex-fiancee Maxine Carr who cheated on Huntley with a 17-year-old on the weekend Holly and Jessica died in her house was sentenced to three-and-a-half years for conspiring with Huntley to pervert the course of justice, but was cleared of two charges of assisting an offender.

She will serve half that sentence, including the 16 months she has spent at Holloway awaiting trial, and will be freed early next year.

Trial judge Mr Justice Moses told Huntley he had shown "persistent cruelty" and "merciless cynicism" towards the girls and their families.

"Your tears have never been for them, only for yourself. In your lies and manipulation up to this very day you have increased the suffering you have caused the two families."

Addressing Carr, 26, he said: "You had plenty of opportunity to refuse to persist in a course of lying and deception. You chose not to. If you had the slightest true regard for those girls or families you would have told the truth."

The Old Bailey jury of seven women and five men deliberated for 17 hours and 32 minutes, and returned majority guilty verdicts of 11-1.

The jurors knew Huntley had once been charged with raping a teenager a charge that was later dropped. What they did not know was that he was also accused of indecently assaulting an 11-year-old and having sex with a string of other schoolgirls.

The authorities involved have admitted that the system of checks failed. In fact, police searching for Holly and Jessica only found out about the rape charge when members of the public rang them.

Holly's father Kevin, 40, said he felt "a great sense of relief" as the verdicts were announced, adding: "There was certainly no sense of euphoria."

Mr Wells said the families wanted to be involved in the inquiry announced by Mr Blunkett, and said he hoped changes to the law would mean that no other families suffered in the same way.

Detective Chief Superintendent Chris Stevenson, who led the inquiry, said: "For several days, he must have thought he would get away with it not least because of the false alibi provided by his girlfriend Maxine Carr. She too has now been punished for her part and will carry that in her conscience for the rest of her life.

"Ian Huntley is a calculating and callous child killer. Only he knows why he murdered Jessica and Holly. Perhaps one day he might demonstrate some sliver of humanity and explain why he did what he did that terrible day last August."