Volkert van der Graaf, the man who murdered politician Pim Fortuyn in 2003, has been on prison leave, junior justice minister Fred Teeven told parliament in a briefing.

‘Given the fact this concerns a private individual and the nature of the case itself, I will make no further statements about the leave,’ Teeven said.

Teeven was ordered by a legal appeal committee to allow Van der Graaf leave to prepare himself for life outside jail.

The minister earlier refused to allow him trial home leave to help him acclimatise to normal society again, saying there would be a serious risk of public disorder and Van der Graaf and his family could also be under threat.

Shooting

Van der Graaf, a militant animal rights activist, shot Fortuyn dead in a car park in Hilversum shortly before the 2003 general election. Fortuyn’s LPF party was riding high in the polls at the time.

Van der Graaf will be eligible for early release in May 2014 if he completes two-thirds of his sentence without incident.

Members of Fortuyn’s family told RTL news they had been informed about the leave after it had taken place.