Jack the Ripper is 'most evil' Briton

Jack the Ripper, despite never having been identified, has been chosen in a poll as the "worst" Briton of the past 1,000 years.

The serial killer who preyed on prostitutes in the Whitechapel area of London in 1888 has lost none of his notoriety. Nearly 5,000 people voted for their least favourite figure from a shortlist representing each century over the past millennium in a poll for BBC History Magazine.

The Ripper received 24 per cent of the vote, more than twice that of his nearest rival. Thomas Becket, who divided England as Archbishop of Canterbury by quarrelling with Henry II over the rights of the church before being assassinated around 1170, came second with 11 per cent.