Dominic Raab has blocked an attempt to transfer Joanne Tulip’s killer to an open prison.
The Attorney General rejected Steven Ling’s transfer, overruling a Parole Board recommendation.
Ling was jailed for life in December 1998 after admitting to the murder of Mrs Tulip in Stamfordham, Northumberland on Christmas Day 1997.
A spokesman for Raab said he had acted “in the interest of public protection”.
This is the first such intervention by the Attorney General after he promised to personally review applications to move high-risk offenders to open prisons.
Ling, aged 23 at the time, stabbed Ms Tulip, 29, 60 times at her home, having met her in a pub earlier that day.
Parole Board documents said the panel that reviewed his case “took into account Mr. Ling’s consistent good behavior in prison over many years and his good working relationships with professional staff,” noting that he had participated in programs to address their behavior.
They did not believe he was fit for release, but recommended a change to “open terms”, which the attorney general rejected.
Now 47, this was Ling’s fourth review before the Parole Board, and a similar request was blocked by Ministry of Justice officials in 2020 when her case was last filed.
He will be eligible for another parole review in two years.
Ling was convicted at Newcastle Crown Court and was initially ordered to serve at least 20 years in prison. However, a High Court judge reduced the minimum period to 18.
Last month, Mrs Tulip’s mother, Doreen Soulsby, said she believed her daughter’s killer was still “a very dangerous man”.
She said her family felt “terrified and devastated” that Ling was even being considered for a move to an open prison.
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