Durham Constabulary issued a statementMathilde Grandjean and Lottie Gibbons Executive editor SEO and engagement
12:20, 28 Feb 2026Updated 14:42, 28 Feb 2026
Ian Huntley leaves Wakefield Prison in September 2006 (Image: DAILY MIRROR-TRINITY MIRROR GROUP-REACH PLC)
Soham killer Ian Huntley remains seriously ill two days after he was attacked in the workshop of a maximum security jail by an inmate with a metal bar. On Saturday morning, Durham Constabulary said there had been no change in his condition in hospital overnight.
A spokesperson said: “The 52-year-old man remains in hospital in a serious condition, there have been no changes overnight.”
Huntley, 52, was repeatedly smashed over the head at HMP Frankland, Durham, on Thursday morning, according to reports.
The force declined to identify the suspect but said on Thursday that a man in his mid-40s had been detained in the prison, but had not yet been arrested.
Former caretaker Huntley killed 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman after they left a family barbecue to buy sweets in Soham, Cambridgeshire, on August 4 2002, then dumped their bodies in a ditch.
Thursday’s assault was the latest attempt on Huntley’s life and he was thought to have been kept under close observation to prevent similar attacks.
In 2010, robber Damien Fowkes slashed him with a home-made weapon, causing a “severe, gaping cut to the left side of his neck” with a 7in (18cm) wound which required 21 stitches.
Fowkes asked a prison officer: “Is he dead? I hope so.”
He described Huntley as a “notorious child killer, both inside prison and in society in general”.
Huntley is serving a life sentence with a recommendation that he serves at least 40 years for the Soham murders.
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