Prison teacher jailed over sex with murderer

A FEMALE prison teacher was yesterday jailed after she had an affair with a convicted murderer.

Samantha Drinkwater, 49, met Michael Gregory while working at highsecurity jail HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire.

She also admitted trying to smuggle cannabis into the jail and was arrested after the drug was found in her car.

Drinkwater worked for PeoplePlus, an employment support and training services firm, at the time of the offences between November 2015 and July 2017.

During the relationship with Gregory, a member of a gang which murdered two teenage girls, Drinkwater also smuggled an SD memory card containing music and videos.

Appearing at Peterborough Crown Court, Drinkwater pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to supply a Class B drug.

At a previous hearing, Drinkwater also pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a class B drug, and to bringing the SD card into the prison.

She also pleaded guilty to one count of misconduct in a public office at a subsequent hearing in April.

Drinkwater, of Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.

Prisons Minister Rory Stewart welcomed the conviction. He said: “This kind of behaviour undermines the whole prison. It is dangerous.”

Gregory was jailed for a minimum of 35 years in 2005 when he was part of The Burger Bar Boys, a gang which shot dead two teenage girls in Birmingham.