The court was told the "controlling" Simpson-Kent carried out the brutal murders because Ms Blake planned to leave him.

He claimed to police he killed them because he had a pact with her as she did not want to leave her children behind.

The Old Bailey previously heard Ms Blake was rendered unconscious by the first blow, in the attack and the boys were "mostly asleep" during the attack.

Yesterday the prosecution said while police were investigating the disappearances, Simpson-Kent was celebrating the New Year in Africa, where he was described as "really partying".

Ms Blake, who played singer Frankie Pierre in 56 episodes of the BBC soap between 1996 and 1997, had just been formally diagnosed with motor neurone disease in December 2015.

She was planning to sell her home and return to live with her family in Leyton, east London, but her family refused to let Simpson-Kent move there.

In handing down the sentence the judge read out a psychiatric report by Dr Philip Joseph where Simpson-Kent gave an account of the killing in December.

In it he said: "Something just snapped in me. Everything came out, feelings of anger and depression and the unfairness of the situation.

"I was tired and emotional and in turmoil about what her family were doing to her. I felt as if I had just been pushed off a diving board and was falling.