be released after 50 years if considered not to be dangerous at that point. This is set to keep him imprisoned until at least 2049 and the age of 73. Several prisoners serving whole life sentences have challenged the legality of whole life sentences in the High Court or European Court of Human Rights. These include Jeremy Bamber and Gary Vinter, whose second legal challenge to the European Court of Human Rights was successful, although the High Court later ruled that whole life sentences could still be issued as long as they were reviewed within 25 years. Arthur Hutchinson has challenged his sentence at least four times in both the High Court and the European Court of Human Rights, but has been unsuccessful each time. Despite the fact that ministers can no longer set sentences they still retain the power to release a prisoner during their sentences on compassionate grounds, normally exercised only when a prisoner is terminally ill. Several months before ministers were stripped of their powers to set minimum sentences, the High Court also stripped ministers of their power to overrule the Parole Board's decision that a life sentence prisoner can be paroled. Imposed by Home Secretaries Successive Home Secretaries are known to have imposed whole life orders for at least 23 murderers between 1983 and 2002 (note, this list is incomplete). In 2002, a former Junior Home Office Minister during the 1980s, Douglas Hogg, admitted to setting 600 tariffs between 1986 and 1989 on behalf of the Home Secretary. Sentenced by judges Since the European Court of Human Rights decision, only trial judges and the High Court have had the power to impose a whole life order. In that time, there have been at least 63 instances of trial judges recommending that an offender should never be released. Several of these prisoners have had their whole life tariffs reduced on appeal by the High Court. Quashed whole life orders Patrick Magee, who bombed the Grand Hotel in Brighton in October 1984, killing five people and nearly killing his intended target Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her Cabinet. He was convicted in 1985 of five counts of murder and several explosive and terrorism offences as well, with a recommendation that he serve 35 years in prison, which was increased later to whole life by Michael Howard. He was however released after 14 years, served in mainland British prisons