Grand Chamber to hear Bamber appeal

Killer Jeremy Bamber and two other murderers will have their appeal over keeping them behind bars for the rest of their lives heard by the Grand Chamber of Europe's human rights court.

The hearing will test whether the UK's law allowing the most dangerous offenders to be sentenced to whole life tariffs, meaning they will never be released, amounts to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights will hear the case in Strasbourg on November 28, a court spokesman said.

It comes after Europe's human rights judges ruled in January that Britain's most dangerous and notorious criminals could be kept behind bars for the rest of their lives.

Condemning people to die in jail was not "grossly disproportionate" and in each case London's High Court had "decided that an all-life tariff was required, relatively recently and following a fair and detailed consideration", the judges ruled.

That ruling will now be tested by the court's Grand Chamber after a panel of five judges granted the appeal by killer Douglas Vinter, who stabbed his wife in February 2008.

Vinter's appeal means the cases of Bamber, who killed his parents, sister and her two young children in August 1985, and Peter Moore, who killed four gay men for his sexual gratification in 1995, will also be considered by the Grand Chamber judges.

Bamber's solicitor, Simon McKay, said: "He's obviously delighted with the decision.

"It demonstrates that his case remains arguable and he looks forward to presenting his position at the Grand Chamber in due course."

The European Court of Human Rights held by four votes to three on January 17 that there had been no violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which is enshrined in UK law under the Human Rights Act and prohibits "inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment".