A petition to prevent the transfer of double murderer Peter Newbery to a prison in the United Kingdom has failed.

Deemster Doyle has ruled the move would not be a breach of his human rights, and a proposed transfer to a prison in England or Wales is not incompatible with his rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Peter Newbery was convicted of the murders of Samantha Barton and George Green in February, 2002 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

The prison notified Newbery of its desire to transfer him to the United Kingdom in April 2007, as it felt the nature of his offence meant he would need a period of expert assessment not available on the Island.

Newbery argued against such a transfer saying it would infringe his Article 8 right to respect for family life, as such a move would reduce the number of visits he would receive from members of his family. He also believed any necessary rehabilitation work could be carried out at Jurby if sufficient resources were made available on the Island.

The Isle of Man Prison Service said, as very few prisoners were given life sentences here, it would not be viable to provide all such facilities on the Island, and adequate measures would be put in place to allow the prisoner to maintain contact with his family.

In his ruling Deemster Doyle said it was in the best interests of both the prisoner and the Island's community that such prisoners were dealt with in specialist units in the UK where meaningful work could be carried out to help their rehabilitation.

He said the Transfer Policy was compatible with Article 8, and dismissed the petition.

(Image: Stock picture of a cell in the prison at Jurby).