A ‘sadistic’ killer has convinced a top judge that Justice Secretary Chris Grayling is ‘arguably’ breaching his human rights by refusing to move him to a prison nearer his family.

Ex-soldier, David Stevenson, claims that being forced to serve his life sentence in Yorkshire – hundreds of miles from his Dorset home – violates his right to a family life.

If his arguments succeed, the Department of Justice could be forced to shift many of the country’s most dangerous criminals to prisons nearer their homes.

Stevenson had sex with masseuse Angela Chiu at her £800,000 Poole mansion before stabbing her six times in 2003, leaving the 48-year-old in a pool of blood.

Stevenson, 48, previously of Verwood, Dorset, was handed a life sentence with a minimum jail term of 19 years when he was convicted of murder at Winchester Crown Court in 2005.

The trial judge, Mr Justice Steel, described the fatal onslaught as a “vicious and prolonged attack with a weapon with sexual, and if not, sadistic overtones”.

But a senior judge at London’s High Court has now granted Stevenson permission to challenge the Justice Secretary’s refusal to move him down south from Wakefield Prison.

Judge Karen Walden-Smith said it was at least arguable that the Justice Department had not “properly carried out the balancing exercise” between Stevenson’s risk as a prisoner and his human right to respect for his family life.

The judge said Stevenson – whose release could be considered as early as August 2022, with a review of his minimum jail term set for 2019 – still denies murder after languishing in HMP Wakefield for years.

The married ex-serviceman had sex with Ms Chiu in a treatment room at her Haven Road home in 2003.

He then knifed her to death in an attack described by the trial judge as ‘planned’, ‘pre-meditated’ and ‘carefully carried out’.

Philip Rule, for Stevenson, said the Justice Secretary failed to apply his own policy and breached his duty under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to properly consider the killer's bid for a move.

He argued that it was ‘in the public interest’ for Stevenson to have contact with loved ones, as it would ultimately aid his rehabilitation.

Mr Grayling’s legal team argued, however, that the prison estate is jam-packed, especially in the South, and that it is “not possible to accommodate him (Stevenson) other than in HMP Wakefield”.

Judge Walden-Smith, however, granted permission for Stevenson to seek judicial review of the decision in a full hearing before the High Court.

The full hearing of Stevenson's case will take place on a date yet to be confirmed.