A former Norwich man who murdered a child killer in prison has lost a bid to take his challenge against a whole-life jail term to the UK's highest court.

Leading judges in London rejected an application by Lee Newell, who was seeking to go to the Supreme Court.

The decision was announced by Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas, who said Newell's case did not raise an issue of general public importance which should be considered by Supreme Court justices.

Today's decision follows a ruling in February by a panel of five judges at the Court of Appeal, headed by Lord Thomas, dismissing Newell's attempt to overturn an order which means he can never be released.

Newell, 45, who murdered child killer Subhan Anwar, had challenged the whole-life sentence imposed last September at Warwick Crown Court.

He was convicted with Gary Smith for the February 2013 murder of Anwar in his cell at Long Lartin Prison, Worcestershire.

Newell was already serving a life sentence for the murder of his neighbour Mary Neal in Gateley Gardens, Norwich, in 1988.

When Newell's appeal was thrown out in February, Lord Thomas said: 'The murder was premeditated and involved the use of an improvised weapon.

'It occurred in prison whilst Newell continued to serve a life sentence. The deceased took a significant time to die.

'There was no mitigation. This was a murder where the seriousness of the offence was exceptionally high.'

Lord Thomas said it was an 'exceptional and rare' case of a second murder committed by a person serving the custodial part of a life sentence.

The five judges said murderers who commit the most 'heinous' of crimes can be sent to prison for the rest of their lives, ruling that the statutory scheme enacted by Parliament which enabled judges to pass whole-life orders was 'entirely compatible' with the European Convention on Human Rights.