British serial killer Stephen Port will spend the rest of his life in prison for the murders of four young gay men after he was sentenced in the Old Bailey.
Relatives of the victims cheered and clapped as Mr Justice Openshaw told Port he would never be released.
The 41-year-old chef stalked his victims on dating websites and plied them with drinks spiked with the drug GHB to rape them while they were unconscious.
Four of his victims died after their drinks were spiked with a fatal amount of GHB and Port dumped their bodies in or near a graveyard within 500m of his flat in Barking, east London, and embarked on an elaborate cover-up.
He disposed of their mobile phones, repeatedly lied to police and planted a fake suicide note in the hand of one of his victims, taking the blame for the death of another.
The deaths of Jack Taylor, Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari and Daniel Whitworth, which occurred over a 15-month period, bore striking similarities but police failed to make the link until relatives of his final victim demanded answers.
The jury convicted Port of a total of 22 offences against 11 men, including the four murders, four rapes, ten counts of administering a substance, and four sex assaults.
He was also convicted of a string of sex offences against seven other men who came forward following his arrest.
The judge told Port that he had carried out the murders to "satisfy his lust" for sex with young men who were rendered unconscious.
He highlighted Port's attempt to cover up two of his murders with fake suicide notes as "wicked and monstrous".
A total of 17 police officers are being investigated over their handling of the case, seven of whom could face the sack if found to be guilty of gross misconduct.
The force is now re-examining 58 unexplained deaths involving the drug GHB from a four-year period across London to make sure that foul play has not been missed in any other cases.
