Soham murderer Ian Huntley strikes up ‘grim’ friendship with jailed warlord who used child soldiers to mutilate enemies

CHILD killer Ian Huntley has struck up a friendship with an African dictator jailed for crimes against humanity.

Soham double-murderer Huntley, 49, has become close prison pals with Charles Taylor, the ex-president of Liberia who is serving 50 years in the UK.

Warlord Taylor, who used child soldiers to mutilate enemies, was locked up over atrocities in Sierra Leone’s Blood Diamonds civil war.

He is in a cell close to Huntley’s in Frankland Prison, Co Durham, and the pair often have cosy chats.

Huntley, who killed ten-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham, Cambs, in 2002, even looks to Taylor, 75, for advice.

A source said: “They make a pretty grim couple but they have become very close — Huntley looks up to Taylor and thinks he is really intelligent.

“He often seeks Taylor’s advice about the prison regime and world affairs.

“They have an interest in the history of warfare.”

Taylor, who ruled Liberia from 1997 to 2003, was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court in 2012.

He was sent to the UK to serve time where he also befriended Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, who was in Frankland until his death in 2020.