Barriers to restrain mob as Huntley goes to court
A ring of steel barriers was erected today to keep out a mob expected at Ian Huntley’s first court appearance over the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.
The crash barriers line the approach to Peterborough magistrates court where Huntley, 28, will arrive tomorrow morning under heavy police guard.
More than 100 officers from Cambridgeshire and two other forces will hold back crowds expected to be at least as large as the 500 who turned out to see Huntley’s girlfriend Maxine Carr arrive for her court appearance three weeks ago.
They screamed abuse and hurled eggs as 25-year-old Carr – accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice – was driven from the hearing.
Huntley, the former caretaker at Soham Village College, is charged with murdering the 10-year-old girls, who lived in the Cambridgeshire town, but his first court appearance was delayed by concerns over his mental state.
He has been held at Rampton high security hospital in Nottinghamshire for assessment since August 20, the day he was charged.
Police fearing a repeat of the ugly scenes at Carr’s appearance appealed for people to show restraint.
A spokeswoman for the Cambridgeshire force said: “People always have a right to protest, as long as it’s lawful. Our job is to manage that.”
For her second appearance, Carr, a former teaching assistant in Holly and Jessica’s class at St Andrew’s primary school, stayed at Holloway prison and a live video link was set up.
But for his first hearing, Huntley must be in court in person, said the Crown Prosecution Service.
The short procedural hearing will not involve Huntley making a plea.
In an unusual move under the fast-track system, he will then make his second appearance almost immediately. He will appear minutes later before crown court Judge Coleman sitting at the magistrate’s court.
