THE killer of Richmond teenager Jenny Nicholl will be denied parole unless he reveals where her body is.

It follows new legislation, named Helen’s Law, making it a legal requirement for the Parole Board to take into account a killer’s failure to disclose the location of their victim’s remains when considering them for release.

It is named after insurance clerk Helen McCourt, who vanished on her way home from work in 1988.

MPs voted in favour of the law in 2016 but it had yet to receive Government backing – until Justice Secretary David Gauke formally announced the move on Saturday.

Jenny Nichol disappeared in 2005 aged 19. In 2008, David Hodgson was convicted of her murder, but has refused to say what he did with her body, despite pleas from her parents, Ann and Brian.

The new legislation comes after Miss McCourt’s mother, Marie, campaigned relentlessly to keep her killer – pub landlord Ian Simms – behind bars until he helped lead police to her daughter’s body.

A jury convicted Simms of abducting and murdering the 22-year-old, from Billinge, near St Helens, Merseyside, on overwhelming DNA evidence.

But he maintained his innocence and refused to reveal where her body was.

Ms McCourt welcomed the Justice Secretary’s announcement and thanked her supporters.

In 2015, on the tenth anniversary of Jenny going missing, Retired North Yorkshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Sue Cross, who was the senior investigating officer who oversaw the murder investigation, said she thinks of Jenny often and regrets that the team was not able to find her.

“Silly things might happen like a song coming on the radio that will take you right back to the case. You wonder where she is and if you missed any opportunity to find her. “It would be wonderful if we could find her and give her back to Ann and Brian. As parents I think you’re mindful that everybody needs the chance to say goodbye to someone they’ve lost.”

Parole Board guidance already states offenders who withhold information may still pose a risk to the public and could therefore face longer in prison.

But Helen’s Law will for the first time make it a legal requirement to consider this withholding of information when making a decision on whether to release an offender, the MoJ said.

It is hoped the legislation will be brought into force as soon as possible.

Courts can also hand down tougher sentenced for murderers who deliberately conceal the location of a body.