Call for inquiry into prisoner’s taxi escape
PRISON authorities are facing calls for an inquiry into how a convicted murderer was allowed to escape from a taxi on the way to a hospital appointment.
Shaun Walmsley, from Liverpool, escaped when two men armed with a knife and a gun confronted prison officers guarding him at Aintree University Hospital during a visit from the city’s HMP Walton on Tuesday.
The three fled in a gold-coloured Volvo found in the Fazakerley area of Liverpool which is being forensically examined.
The mayor of Liverpool has called for an “immediate inquiry” and Steve Rotheram, the Liverpool Walton MP, has written to the Home Secretary to demand an explanation as to what happened.
Joe Anderson, mayor of Liverpool, said he is “angry and incredibly shocked” by the “serious security breach”, and is waiting for a full briefing into what happened.
He said: “We have to call for an inquiry into what has gone on and what has happened – I am going to write to the Home Secretary.” He added: “This is somebody who is a convicted murderer who could well be in my city or anywhere else. We don’t know whether he has got out to be part of any drug disputes in the city.”
Mr Anderson said it was a “tense time” in the city following recent murders and that to him it looked like Walmsley had been able to plan the escape well in advance.
He also said his understanding was that the two prison officers and Walmsley turned up to the hospital appointment in a taxi, but that he is waiting for confirmation.
“The issues are; how it has been allowed to happen, why there were only two guards for a category A prisoner, and why he was not in a secure vehicle, if that was the case?” he added.