Prison probes Johnson video

Former Middlesbrough, Sunderland and England footballer Adam Johnson, who is in prison for sexual activity with a child PRISON bosses are investigating after video emerged of sex offender Adam Johnson behind bars.

Film obtained by The Sun appears to show the former Sunderland star laughing with fellow inmates while discussing the crime which landed him in Moorland Prison.

Johnson was found guilty last year of sexual activity with a child, after he admitted grooming a besotted 15-year-old fan.

Last year, Johnson told a court “I wholeheartedly and unreservedly apologise for my actions” — but in footage which appears to have been captured in the prison laundry, he seems to make light of the severity of the offence.

Last month, Johnson lost a challenge for permission to appeal against his conviction. Court of Appeal judges also rejected his bid for a reduction in his six-year jail sentence.

In the video, he appears to suggest that his sentence was made harsher because of his fame, and that an ordinary member of the public could have got away with “a caution”.

The Ministry of Justice initially declined to comment on the film, but released a statement on Friday afternoon saying they are investigating how the footage, presumably captured on a mobile phone, came to be made.

The 2010 Crime and Security Act made possessing a mobile phone in jail punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment as well as a possible fine.

A Prison Service spokeswoman said: “We are committed to making prisons places of safety and reform and are stepping up measures to find and block illegal mobile phones.

“Those who break the rules will be punished and can face extra time behind bars. An investigation is under way.”