Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe’s bid not to spend the rest of his life behind bars was being heard at the High Court in London today.

His application will be heard to have a tariff set, which could lead to parole.

Sutcliffe, 63, of Heaton, Bradford, was given 20 life terms at the Old Bailey in 1981 for the murder of 13 women and attempted murder of seven others.

The judge recommended he serve a minimum 30 years behind bars but he was given no formal minimum sentence. His name was not on a Home Office list of murderers serving “whole life” sentences.

The High Court, in setting the tariff, is expected to take into account the gravity of his crimes, whether he has made exceptional progress in custody, the state of his mental health and representations from him, his victims or their families.

Sutcliffe, who now goes by the surname Coonan – his mother’s maiden name – has spent nearly all of his years in custody at Broadmoor high security hospital.