News of the World exposes jail security lapses
The Prison Service has launched an investigation after a journalist from the Sunday paper got a job as a warder at the jail where Soham murders suspect Ian Huntley is being held.
The reporter from the News of the World, David McGee, has claimed that he was able to photograph Huntley in his cell and twice guarded him during his stint at the prison in April.
McGee alleges that authorities failed to check his false address or bogus job reference before offering him a job.
He even goes as far as suggesting that his CV contained a letter of reference from a convicted criminal.
McGee continues to claim that managers at Woodhill prison also failed to spot the obvious signs of his profession – such as the word ‘journalist’ stamped in his passport which he used as a proof of identity.
‘At each point in my investigation I felt certain that there must be a vetting procedure that would expose the flaws in my application. But it kept moving forward, stage to stage, with no trouble at all.’
McGee said that he ‘simply called up’ the prison and asked for a job. ‘Within 13 weeks of starting training, and while I was still a rookie warder, I was the sole guard minding Huntley.’
The allegations then move on to the issue of a small camera that the journalist smuggled into the prison. McGee wrote: ‘The camera I smuggled in could easily have been a small explosive or a knife.’
The allegations have reportedly sparked off a top-level security investigation at the prison.
‘We are very concerned about the allegations in a Sunday newspaper that a reporter was employed at HMP Woodhill. The deputy Director General has commenced an investigation which will be conducted by a senior manager from the prison service and will report to ministers as soon as possible.’
