His right to marry is protected by Article 12 of the ECHR and the decision is taken by the prison manager and can usually only be denied if there is a security risk or a legal objection, such as marriage to a relative.
Lawyers from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) believe that there may be a chance to challenge under a provision in the Marriage Act, which allows the manager to object to their building being used for a wedding.
However, this was potentially overturned by subsequent case law, which could allow Belfield to challenge a legal challenge in support of his human right to marry.
Mr Johnson’s spokesman said: “The prime minister is disgusted and horrified by this. His thoughts are with the family and relatives of his victims. They are at the forefront of his mind after this difficult and catastrophic news. “
Prison Secretary Victoria Atkins described Belfield as “an evil, evil monster that has left a trail of despair and grief behind.” “My heart is with families, because again this horrible human being is on the front pages (in the newspapers) and they have to think about him,” she said.
Belfield received a life sentence for the murder of Ms. McDonnell, 19, in 2003, and the murder of Ms. Delagrange, at 22, and the attempted murder of Kate Shidi, at 18, in 2004.
He was already serving his sentence when he was tried for the murder of schoolgirl Millie, who was abducted from the street on her way home from school in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, in March 2002.
Belfield was found guilty of kidnapping and killing a 13-year-old boy after a trial in Old Bailey in 2011.
Prison marriages are rare, but not unheard of. In 2017, Charles Bronson – one of the longest-serving and most famous prisoners in the UK – married former soap actress Paula Williamson.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange married Stella Morris two months ago in the high-security Belmarsh prison while awaiting extradition to the United States on espionage charges.
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