Mass killer faces judge as terror cells investigated

Kept from the public's gaze at a closed Norwegian court hearing yesterday, the man who killed scores of people in two terror attacks nonetheless retained the world's attention as the authorities said that they were investigating his claims to have worked alongside "two more" terror cells.

Anders Behring Breivik's astonishing claim came as a Norwegian court ruled that the self-confessed mass murderer should be held in prison for the next eight weeks, four of which will be in total isolation, without visits and letters or access to the internet and newspapers.

Amid growing anger within Norway that the 32-year-old man responsible for so many deaths would try to use his court appearance as a propaganda coup – a strategy outlined in the 1,500-page manifesto that Breivik published just hours before the slaughter began – Judge Kim Heger, pictured, also conducted the hearing behind closed doors. The court cited fears of a security risk posed by a public hearing.

Oslo's police force is investigating whether the perpetrator of Norway's worst violence since the Second World War had help from ideological or practical accomplices. Police last night said Breivik's testimony to them had been inconsistent – telling investigators that he acted alone and also that he had help from "two more cells".

In his manifesto, Breivik claims to have founded an anti-Muslim "Knights Templar" in London eight years ago. The group's existence is being investigated by security officials in the UK and across the rest of Europe who have said they are aware of increased internet chatter from individuals claiming they belong to the same organisation.

"We cannot completely, and I stress completely, rule out that others were involved in what happened," police attorney Christian Hatlo told a news conference when asked about the other cells. Mr Hatlo added that Breivik "seemed unaffected by what had happened" but was prepared to spend the rest of his life in prison. He had admitted to carrying out the attacks but has refused to plead guilty.

It also emerged last night that the PST, Norway's MI5, had Breivik's name on a list of 60 people who had purchased chemicals from a retailer in Poland. But it was considered too small an amount to warrant further investigation.

Police last night reduced the final death toll from the Utoya shootings from 86 people to 68. The victims killed in both attacks now total 76 after an eighth person died from the Oslo bomb.