Victor Farrant may be released from prison after Eastleigh attack

Victor Farrant was told he would never be freed after killing his ex-girlfriend Glenda Hoskins in Portsmouth, just months after the attack on Ann Fidler in 1995.

The attack on Ms Fidler in Eastleigh was just a month after being released from his 12-year prison sentence for rape, false imprisonment, grievous bodily harm and unlawful wounding.

It left Ms Fidler, a former government aide, so badly injured that she does not remember the attack.

Glenda Hoskins was murdered in 1996 by her former boyfriend Victor Farrant at her Portsmouth home

However, Mrs Hoskins’ children have been told Farrant is ill and can no longer receive care in jail, the family have told the BBC.

Mrs Hoskins' son David was approached by probation officials who said that Farrant, now in his mid-70s, was being considered for release on health grounds.

David was asked if he wanted an exclusion not to contact the Hoskins family to be added to the terms of Farrant’s license, according to the family.

Mrs Hoskins' other son Iain told the BBC: "The words that the judge said at the trial gave us all the reassurance that we needed to start our lives again. He gave us that reassurance that 'life would mean life'.

"For the whole family, it felt like we'd closed a chapter and were able to get on and live our lives."

Victor Farrant was given a whole-life order for killing Glenda Hoskins and attacking Ann Fidler in the 1990s (Image: PA)

Iain said he was "numb" when he received the news.

"I didn't know how to process that information. The first day I ignored it and only read a bit of it. You just don't want to open that door," he said.

"The email read as 'this is being done, can we discuss where in the country he will be sent?'.

"If he's being let out to die…it doesn't sound like he's on death's door," Iain added.

"This guy is a master manipulator. Even if he has a terminal illness, he could live for some time and it petrifies us that this man could now be let loose."

The family have written to Justice Secretary Alex Chalk and Home Secretary James Cleverly sharing their concerns about Farrant.

Serious offenders who are freed from jail usually have their release approved by the Parole Board.

However, a spokesperson told the BBC it had not been involved in Farrant's case.

The Ministry of Justice told the BBC prisoners were sometimes freed on compassionate grounds in rare and exceptional cases, after a medical and risk assessment.

The Hoskins family have been told by the probation service that a formal meeting between justice officials about the risk posed by Farrant is scheduled for early April.

An MoJ spokesperson said: "Glenda Hoskins' murder was a horrific crime and our thoughts remain with her family and friends.

"Prisoners are only released on compassionate grounds in exceptional circumstances following strict risk assessments and no formal application has yet been made in this case."