MOORS murderer Ian Brady has been taken to hospital.

Brady is due to attend a mental health tribunal on Monday regarding his application to be transferred to a Scottish prison and be allowed to die.

But Brady’s solicitor Richard Nicholas said he was now in hospital for tests.

He said the tribunal “was obviously very important”.

He added: “We are waiting for a decision. We hope it’s not going to be affected.”

Brady is thought to have suffered a seizure.

News of his hospitalisation comes as the mother of Moors Murder victim Keith Bennett confirmed she will not be attending the mental health tribunal.

Last December Winnie Johnson, 78, from Manchester, said she hoped to come “face-to-face” with her son’s killer after a judge ruled Brady’s mental health tribunal would be held in public.

But her solicitor John Ainley, senior partner at North Ainley Halliwell, said Mrs Johnson was in hospital and not well enough to attend.

Keith’s body – buried on the bleak moors above Holmfirth – has never been found.

He was one of the victims of Brady and his lover Myra Hindley.

Mr Ainley said: “In any event, it would be too traumatic for her to have any involvement in a hearing that deals with Ian Brady.

“Winnie has made it perfectly clear over the years that she considers Ian Brady should remain in a mental hospital for the remainder of his natural life and not be transferred to a prison either in England or Scotland.

“Presumably, the intention would be to go on hunger strike with a view to ending his own life. She does not consider this should be his prerogative.”

Mr Ainley said his client still wanted answers from Brady.

He said: “She has only one question to ask Ian Brady, that is ’Where is my son Keith?’

“Her one and only desire is to give her son a proper family burial during her lifetime. Nothing short of that will ever give her peace of mind.”

He said Mrs Johnson, of Longsight, Manchester, had been appreciative over the years of all the efforts that have been made to further the search for Keith and the many messages of sympathy and encouragement she has received.

The rare public hearing will hear Brady’s application to be transferred to a Scottish prison and be allowed to die.

Brady, 74, jailed in 1966 for murdering three children, has been detained at Ashworth Hospital, Maghull, Merseyside, since 1985.

The tribunal will be the second time such a hearing has been held in public and will take place at the hospital and relayed via video link to the civil justice centre in Manchester.

Brady and his girlfriend, Myra Hindley, lured children and teenagers to their deaths, with their victims tortured before being buried on Saddleworth Moor.

Pauline Reade, 16, disappeared on her way to a dance on 12 July 1963 and John Kilbride, 12, was snatched four months later.

Keith Bennett was abducted on 16 June 1964 after he left home to visit his grandmother.

Lesley Ann Downey, 10, was lured away from a funfair on Boxing Day 1964 while Edward Evans, 17, was killed in October 1965.

Brady was jailed for life at Chester Assizes in 1966 for the murders of John, Lesley Ann and Edward, while Hindley was jailed for life for killing Lesley Ann and Edward and shielding Brady after John’s murder.

In 1987 the pair finally admitted killing Keith and Pauline.

Both were taken back to Saddleworth Moor in 1987 to help police find the remains of the missing victims but only Pauline's body was found.

Hindley died in jail in November 2002, aged 60.