Levi Bellfield found bullying the vulnerable
easy. He intimidated women and weaker men with his size, backed up by
dreadful violence if it were needed. But when it came to a more equal
fight – such as when it kicked off in a club where he was working – he would be
nowhere to be seen. Perhaps one day the video we found of him supposedly
‘bare knuckle boxing’ will make its way on to You Tube, and the world can share
the laughter we on the enquiry team burst into when we saw it.
‘Bare-knuckle running away’ was a more accurate description.
So it is no surprise that he was assaulted
and was unable to defend himself in Wakefield Prison. There are some
genuine hard men in there who, whatever they had done to be put away, were
still decent enough to take exception to Bellfield killing young girls, beating
up women and raping anyone he fancied. It was only a matter of time
before somebody took him on. It isn’t right, but it also isn’t
surprising.
Equally, it is completely understandable that
the Prison Service chose to settle his claim. £4,500 is a tidy sum, but nothing
like the amount they would have to spend on a full trial, even if they
won. The Service is just as cash-strapped as the rest of the Public
Sector, and its bosses have to make business decisions, with sound economics
winning over common sense morality. And indeed £4,500 is drop in the
ocean compared to the many millions the public purse has spent on trials
already on Bellfield’s behalf. You and I pay and the only winners are
Bellfield and the lawyers. It definitely isn’t right, but as distasteful
as it might be, it also isn’t surprising.
But if you want real proof that the whole
system is messed up, look no further than the scale of compensation paid by the
Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority to the families of murder
victims. For a single relative the maximum is £11,000, and for multiple
relatives £5,500 each. So, currently, the parents of Amélie Delagrange,
Marsha McDonnell and Millie Dowler - who not only endured the loss of their daughters
but the heartbreak of trials, of Bellfield sneering at them and having their
lives dissected by his legal team – would each be entitled to just £1000 more
than Bellfield has been given because the warders at Wakefield could not
prevent him from getting a few scratches from a sharpened toothbrush.
And that is so not right as to be off the
scale, and puts this whole ridiculous business of a duty of care being owed to
monsters like Bellfield into a sickening perspective.
