Peter Sutcliffe: Police chief apologises for language used towards Yorkshire Ripper victims

  • Video report by ITV News Correspondent Damon Green

West Yorkshire's Police Chief Constable has issued an apology to the relatives of Peter Sutcliffe’s victims for the language used by senior officers at the time.

Serial killer Sutcliffe, known as the Yorkshire Ripper, died on Friday after contracting Covid-19.

West Yorkshire Police Chief Constable John Robins said: “On behalf of West Yorkshire Police, I apologise for the additional distress and anxiety caused to all relatives by the language, tone and terminology used by senior officers at the time in relation to Peter Sutcliffe’s victims.

“Such language and attitudes may have reflected wider societal attitudes of the day, but it was as wrong then as it is now.

“A huge number of officers worked to identify and bring Peter Sutcliffe to justice and it is a shame that their hard work was overshadowed by the language of senior officers used at the time, the effect of which is still felt today by surviving relatives.

“Thankfully those attitudes are consigned to history and our approach today is wholly victim focused, putting them at the centre of everything we do.”

The known victims of Sutcliffe.

He added: “I offer this heartfelt apology today as the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police.”

Richard McCann, the son of Sutcliffe’s first recognised victim, Wilma McCann, told the BBC: "They described some of the women as 'innocent', inferring that some were not innocent - including my mum," he said.

"She was a family woman who, through no fault of her own, was going through adversity and made some bad decisions, some risky decisions."

  • Tracey Browne survived one of Sutcliffe's vicious attacks

"She paid for those decisions with her life."

Sutcliffe had been serving a life term for murdering 13 women across Yorkshire and the North West between 1975 and 1980 - he spent almost four decades in prison.

In May 1981, he was jailed for 20 life terms at the Old Bailey, the judge recommended a minimum sentence of 30 years.More than two decades later, a secret report revealed that Sutcliffe probably committed more crimes than the 13 murders and seven attempted murders for which he was convicted.

Brian Booth, chairman of West Yorkshire Police Federation, said: “On hearing of the death of Peter Sutcliffe today, I feel: good riddance.

“The monster who murdered so many innocent women in and around West Yorkshire should rot in hell.

“He is the very reason most people step to the plate and become police officers – to protect our communities from people like him.”

Born in Bingley, West Yorkshire, in 1946, Sutcliffe left school aged 15 and worked in menial jobs before becoming a grave digger.

He began his killing spree in 1975 and avoided detection for years due to a series of missed opportunities by police to snare him.

He eventually confessed in 1981 after he was caught in Sheffield.

Sutcliffe’s five-year reign of terror claimed the lives of 13 women, though police suspect that number could be higher. His known victims were:

Wilma McCann, 28, from Chapeltown, Leeds, who was killed in October 1975.

Emily Jackson, 42, a prostitute and mother-of-three from Morley, Leeds. Killed on January 20, 1976.

Irene Richardson, 28, a mother-of-two from Chapeltown, Leeds. Killed on February 6, 1977.

Patricia Atkinson, 32, a mother-of-three from Manningham, Bradford. Killed on April 24, 1977.

Jayne MacDonald, 16, a shop assistant from Leeds. Killed on June 26, 1977.

Jean Jordan, 21, from Manchester, who died between September 30 and October 11, 1977.

Yvonne Pearson, 22, from Bradford. Murdered between January 20 and March 26, 1978.

Helen Rytka, 18, from Huddersfield. Murdered on January 31, 1978.

Vera Millward, 40, a mother-of-seven from Manchester, who was killed on May 16, 1978.

Josephine Whitaker, 19, a building society worker from Halifax. Killed on April 4, 1979.

Barbara Leach, 20, a student who was murdered while walking in Bradford on September 1, 1979.

Marguerite Walls, 47, a civil servant from Leeds who was murdered on August 20, 1980

Jacqueline Hill, 20, a student, who was found at Headingley on November 16, 1980.