Killers and rapists on run from open prisons

76 have walked out and vanished, yet officials will not identify 25 of them

KILLERS, rapists, gun criminals and people smugglers are among 76 inmates on the run after walking out of open jails, the Mail can reveal today.

For the first time, officials have released a full list of the grave offences committed by convicts who have vanished from lowsecurity prisons since 2004.

Fifty- seven have evaded the authorities for four years or more and may never be caught.

Ministers have ordered the publication of the identities of 51 of the fugitives. But – to the fury of MPs – 25 names are being kept secret at the request of victims, police or probation officers.

On the list are a man guilty of manslaughter, a killer driver, a rapist, an arsonist and two men – Hugues Lebas and Peter Olekh – guilty of helping illegals to sneak into the UK.

There are also 15 drug dealers or drug smugglers, nine burglars and four men convicted of firearms offences. Incredibly, some had served as little as 21 days before walking out of open jail and vanishing.

The names were released under pressure from Tory MP Philip Davies, who has campaigned against the scandal of absconding inmates.

‘The scale of the number of people allowed to escape is beyond comprehension, but the biggest scandal is that there are still lots of names that have not been released,’ he said.

‘These are dangerous people. The public have an absolute right to know who they are. There should be no excuses. I do not care how embarrassing it is.’

Those whose names have been with- held include the rapist and the two killers. Tory sources pointed out that more than two thirds of the inmates were already on the run when this government came to power.

Earlier this year, officials at the Ministry of Justice sparked anger by refusing to release the names of 18 criminals who went on the run between May 2010 and March 2013.

This newspaper had applied for their identities to be made known under freedom of information laws – saying it could help to catch them.

But officials said there was a blanket ban on releasing the criminals’ identities because it was their own ‘personal data’ and it would be ‘unfair’ to them.

The decision was taken without the knowledge of Justice Secretary Chris Grayling who overruled the civil servants. As a result, officials are now normally expected to release the prisoners’ identities unless officers are following an intelligence lead they do not want to jeopardise.

Controversy about open jails erupted earlier this year when Michael Wheatley – known as Skull-cracker – absconded from Standford Hill open prison in Kent while on temporary release. He was apprehended a few

‘Scale is beyond comprehension’

weeks later after trying to raid a building society in Sunbury, Surrey, and is now back serving life behind bars. There have been a string of other incidents of inmates absconding from open prisons. They included murderer Arnold Pickering and a violent knifepoint robber dubbed the Scarborough Slasher. Both have been recaptured.

Andrew Selous, Tory prisons minister, said: ‘Absconds have reached record lows under this Government – down 80 per cent over the last ten years – but each and every incident is taken seriously, with the police contacted as a matter of urgency.

‘Open prisons and temporary licence are an important tool in rehabilitating long-term offenders, but not at the expense of public safety.’