Mick and Mairead Philpott and Paul Mosley were convicted on Tuesday. Photo: BBC

Mick Philpott, 56, was told he would serve a minimum of 15 years in prison.

He was convicted of manslaughter along with his wife Mairead and friend Paul Mosley, who were told they would serve half their 17-year sentences.

Mrs Justice Thirlwall told Philpott he was "the driving force behind this shockingly dangerous enterprise".

The trial heard he plotted to set his house alight to frame his former mistress Lisa Willis, with whom he was fighting a custody battle over their children.

If he gained custody, he hoped Miss Willis would return to live with him.

'Children's terror'

The judge told Philpott: "You could not stand the fact that she had crossed you.

"You were determined to make sure she came back and you began to put together your plan."

The judge said the children were subjected to a terrifying ordeal.

She said: "Their terror was the price they were going to pay for your callous selfishness.

"In fact, they paid with their six young lives."

She told Philpott that he had "no moral compass", adding: "Your guiding principle is what Mick Philpott wants he gets."

The judge told Mairead Philpott, 32, she had been treated "as a skivvy or a slave" by her husband.

She added: "As became clear during the trial you were prepared to go to any lengths, however humiliating, to keep him happy."

'Lied throughout'

The judge told Mosley, 46, he had "nothing to do" with Lisa Willis or her children, yet was "prepared to go along with the plan and to join in with it to please your then friend, Michael Philpott".

The trial heard Philpott, his wife and his mistress had lived at the three-bedroom council house with 11 of their children until Miss Willis moved out in February 2012.

Jade Philpott, 10, John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six, and Jayden, five, died on the morning of the fire on 11 May 2012.

Mairead Philpott's son from a previous relationship, 13-year-old Duwayne, died later in hospital. The court heard Mick Philpott considered him his son.

Dawn Bestwick, Mick Philpott's sister, said outside court the sentences were a "victory" for the children who could now "rest in peace".

Det Supt Kate Meynell, of Derbyshire Police, said the Philpotts and Mosley had "lied throughout the investigation and court case".

"There were plenty of opportunities to admit their guilt but they never did and persisted with their denials.

"This has been an incredibly tragic case to investigate and today's sentences bring this difficult inquiry to a close."