Drones and diamond cutters aid jailbreak
Echoes of Alcatraz as police hunt escaped prisoners
TWO prisoners were on the run last night after apparently using diamond-tipped cutting equipment smuggled in by drone to break out of a cell.
The men left pillows and clothes in the shape of bodies in their beds and lowered themselves down the walls of HMP Pentonville using a rope made from sheets.
Matthew Baker, 28, who has been convicted of attempted murder, and James Whitlock, 31, who is facing burglary charges, were discovered missing yesterday, more than 12 hours after they had absconded. Police warned the public not to approach the two men ‘as they could become violent’.
It is strongly believed drones were used to fly cutting equipment into the north London prison, which the inmates used to slice through bars on a window. At about 10.40pm on Sunday, they clambered from their fifth-floor cell in G wing on to the roof of the jail’s chapel, then jumped on to the 20ft high perimeter wall.
From there they used bed sheets to drop to the pavement. It is understand a getaway car was waiting for them in the street.
The inmates had folded pillows and piles of clothing to fool staff into believing they were asleep. The ruse had echoes of the notorious 1962 escape from Alcatraz, where US inmates made papier mache dummies to act as decoys.
Baker and Whitlock were not found to be missing until about 11.45am. It is understood that because they were not assigned to a work programme, they were not expected to leave their cell until lunchtime. A Prison Service investigation into the breakout will focus on exactly how the machinery was smuggled behind bars, why staff did not hear the sound of the drill and whether the men had any help.
Baker was found guilty of attempted murder two weeks ago having stabbed a man in Dagenham, east London, 25 times with a broken glass. He was remanded ahead of sentencing on November 11.
Whitlock – who previously escaped from an open prison in 2010 – was on remand having been charged with conspiracy to burgle, following 19 offences of theft from ATMs.
The Prison Governors Association said the breakout ‘marked a new low in the prison service on top of what has been already a humiliating decline in standards’.
Blaming budget cuts, it added: ‘This is an institutional failure in one of our most core functions – keeping prisoners in custody. It is with profound sincerity that the following prediction is wrong but this feels very much like only the beginning of the things to come.’
The Prison Officers Association representative for London, Dave Todd, blamed the escape on staff shortages, low morale and insecure exercise yards.
It comes less than a month after Somalian-born gang member Jamal Mahmoud, 21, died after being stabbed at the 174-year-old prison in an attack which left two others injured.
Andrew Neilson, of the Howard League for Penal Reform, blasted the Prison Service and blamed the breakout on ‘chronic overcrowding and staff shortages’. He added: ‘Less than a month after a man was killed in Pentonville, this escape is more shocking evidence of a prison that is out of control.’ HMP Pentonville, which opened in 1842, has regularly been criticised for its low standards.
The category B prison was last year singled out by then justice secretary Michael Gove as ‘the most dramatic example of failure’ in the prison estate. A report by the chief inspector of prisons said the jail, which is supposed to hold 900 inmates but houses 1,300, had blood-stained walls, piles of rubbish and food waste, and spiralling violence and drug abuse.
The overcrowding and a shortage of prison officers means ‘temporary regimes’ are set up in which inmates are confined to their cells so safe staff-prisoner ratios can be met.
Camilla Poulton, chairman of HMP Pentonville’s independent inspection watchdog, said: ‘It will remain a soft target for contraband and other security breaches as long as its dilapidated windows are in place, notwithstanding the efforts of management and staff.’
The escape happened just hours after up to 300 inmates armed with knives ran riot at HMP Bedford, trashing two wings and forcing prison chiefs to send in specialist security teams.
It fuelled concerns the prison system is in crisis. Before news of the Pentonville escape, prison governors warned yesterday that the disorder at HMP Bedford ‘may indicate the start of similar disturbances or worse to come’ adding: ‘There is a real risk to the core security function … keeping prisoners within its walls.’
Last week, Justice Secretary Liz Truss unveiled measures including 2,500 new frontline officers and nofly zones to stop drones dropping drugs and other contraband into jails.
A Prison Service spokesman said: ‘Public protection is our top priority and we take escapes from custody extremely seriously. We are working closely with the police and are urgently investigating the matter.’