Carr to know in days if she will be freed

Maxine Carr is likely to know within days whether she will be released early from prison, it emerged today.

The former girlfriend of Soham murderer Ian Huntley has been put forward for early release by the governor of Holloway and there are unconfirmed reports that she will be given the decision today.

If released she would be fitted with an electronic tag and alarms would be triggered if she left her house during the curfew.

She was given a three-and-a-half year jail sentence for conspiring to pervert the course of justice after Huntley murdered 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

Carr, 26, has been in jail since August 2002 and would stay there until mid-May if she served half her sentence.

Prison Service chief Martin Narey could use new powers to refuse Carr's release, on the grounds that it would undermine public confidence in tagging.