A CREWKERNE man who murdered his wife has failed in his bid to be freed from prison.

The Parole Board ruled that Glyn Razzell, 64, who has already served almost 22 years in jail, remains a threat to the public.

He has always denied killing his estranged wife and mother-of-four Linda, who was 41 when she disappeared on her way to work at Swindon College in March 2002. Her body has never been found.

Razzell was given a mandatory life sentence with a minimum term of 16 years in November 2003 following his conviction for murder.

The sentencing judge said Razzell was an obsessive planner whose motive for the murder was partly money and partly anger that Linda was getting the better of him in their divorce.

During the latest Parole Board hearing, he admitted his wife "must be dead", having previously suggesting she was still alive.

The panel ruled there are a number of risk factors that make it likely Razzell would reoffend if he was released, A report from the Parole Board said: "The panel considered that Mr Razzell evidenced a desire to control the narrative surrounding his detention.

"It noted concerns raised about his conduct towards female professionals who have been involved in his case, and it considered this to be evidence of a continuing risk."

It added: "The panel considered ‘Helen’s Law’ with great care.

"The panel did not know how or where the victim’s remains were disposed of, and it believed that Mr Razzell had information about this.

"The panel therefore took into account Mr Razzell’s non-disclosure and the reason, in its view, he had failed to disclose information.

"The panel agreed with an earlier panel’s assessment of the case. Mr Razzell had not disclosed information because he continues to deny killing the victim, does not want to lose his desired status of being a ‘wrongly convicted murderer’ and he has been attempting ‘self-preservation’ to keep himself ‘psychologically intact’ by keeping control of the narrative.

"The panel concluded that the reasons behind Mr Razzell’s non-disclosure do have significant bearing on his risk. It stated that there was 'ample evidence that Mr Razzell is capable of wholesale deceit; that his wilful and deliberate withholding of the relevant information indicates that he continues to be a risk; that the reasons for his non-disclosure are relevant to the risk he presents, and the reasons carry great weight when examining the assessment of his risk should [he] be released'.

"Mr Razzell has been in prison for nearly 22 years. The panel found that he had done little work to address his assessed risk factors and that he does not acknowledge that he has any risk factors, despite overwhelming evidence.

"The panel was mindful that denial of offending is not a bar to release, however, the panel was not satisfied that release at this point would be safe for the protection of the public. It did not direct Mr Razzell’s release."