The charge relates to an alleged attack on the 61-year-old serial murderer with a cutlery knife by a fellow inmate at the secure mental hospital in Crowthorne, Berkshire, in December.

A spokeswoman for Thames Valley Police said Patrick Sureda, 42, was charged with attempted wounding with intent on February 28, but news of the charges has only now been revealed.

Sutcliffe, from Bradford in Yorkshire, was jailed in 1981 for murdering 13 women and attempting to kill seven more across Yorkshire and in Manchester.

He was sentenced to 20 life sentences and was told by the judge that he would serve a minimum of 30 years.

Sutcliffe is currently making a legal bid for freedom by claiming his human rights have been breached.

His lawyer Saimo Chahal claims the Home Office disregarded his human rights because they failed to formally fix a tariff for his sentence.

Sutcliffe began his sentence in prison but three years later was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was transferred to Broadmoor.

Ms Chahal, who specialises in civil liberties and social welfare as a partner at London-based Bindmans & Partners, aims to get Sutcliffe back into the prison system and has requested a reassessment of his psychiatric condition.