There were a few other factors that helped me make up my mind to get my own back on the useless civil servants that were running our beloved country. These were to do with the way the austerity measures hit only the working class and the way the rich were getting richer and the working men and women were getting poorer. I will get on to the exiting part of my story soon but want to let you know that it just wasn’t the way the NHS failed to help my beloved wife nor was it to do solely about the way I was treated by Her Majesty’s Prison service but being a counsellor I did meet a lot of people and it’s also their stories that have left me in no doubt about organising the Bedford heist. Along with their individual sad stories there was also the problem to do with prison overhaul which keeps raising its ugly head every few years and along with the UK’s austerity measures that only affected the working classes.
Chapter 5. Prisons overhaul
Just before I was forced to take early retirement from a job, I not only loved but was one that I was good at, there had been a lot of talk about prison overhaul and prison reforms. This is nothing new as there has always been a lot of talk and suggestions on how to fix the service but very little ever got put into practice. Before stepping down as Prime Minister (after the Brexit vote) David Cameron said that the "failure" of the current system is "scandalous". He went on to state that six "reform prisons" are to be created in England in Wales as part of a government pilot scheme to tackle high levels of violence within the prison service and re-offending. Prison governors will have autonomy over their operation and budgets, while graduate teachers will be recruited for jails. Mr Cameron stated that "current levels of prison violence, drug-taking and self-harm should shame us all", with a typical week seeing incidents of self-harm, at least one suicide and a rising number of assaults on staff.
In his speech, the then prime minister announced that prison governors will have control over the way they run their prisons, which he says will empower staff, drive up standards and cut reoffending. "We need prisons. Some people - including, of course, rapists, murderers, child abusers, gang leaders - belong in them," he said. "For me, punishment – that’s deprivation of liberty - is not a dirty word." But he also added: "I also strongly believe that we must offer chances to change; that for those trying hard to turn themselves around, we should offer hope; that in a compassionate country, we should help those who've made mistakes to find their way back onto the right path." He went on to say that “prisoners should be seen as potential assets to be harnessed" and the "failure of our system today is scandalous". He also highlighted figures showing 46% of all prisoners re-offend within a year of release and said that the cycle of reoffending costs up to £13bn a year. I sometimes wonder if prisons should do away with its gates and just install a revolving door. Being on the sharp end of any reforms I can only agree with what the then PM stated but forgive me for being pessimistic as I have heard it all before and we are still waiting and are in a heck of a mess.
A couple of years before I was forced to leave there was a riot at HMP Bedford which saw prison officers from across the country brought in to control hundreds of inmates who had taken over two wings. Scores of prisoners reportedly flooded on to the prison's gangways in chaotic scene. Police and specially trained officers (which I had helped train) were called to the Category B prison amid reports of loud bangs or explosions coming from inside. The Prison Officers Association (POA) said about 230 inmates got out of their cells and seized keys, broke into medicine stores and started small fires. The Prison Service said on the BBC that the situation was brought under control after an operation that lasted more than six hours. Nobody was seriously hurt but I had warned the prison service that this would probably happen but again I may as well have been talking to a brick wall. I had mentioned in a recent report on HMP Bedford, where inmates claimed it was easier to get hold of drugs than clothes or bedding. The inmate numbers had risen so fast that items such as clothes and bedding had not kept pace with the intake of prisoners. I had read in a report on Bedford Prison published in September 2017, almost twice the number of prisoners said it was "easy" to access drugs, compared to a previous inspection in February 2014. The number saying, they had developed a drug problem while at the prison increased from 4% to 14%. It is clear to me that the prison system is due urgent changes instead of just words.
On the 29th of December 2019, the cost to the taxpayer of holding inmates in our crisis-hit jails is at a record high, a Sun on Sunday study revealed. The bill is now £43,213 a year, or £118 a day, for every place at our 117 prisons — up nearly six per cent in the past 12 months.
In November 2016, the then Justice Secretary Liz Truss unveiled a White Paper detailing £1.3bn investment in new prisons over the next five years, and plans for 2,100 extra officers, drug tests and more autonomy for governors. Let’s see what really happens but if you like a gamble, I think William Hills would give you short odds that it isn’t implemented.
If you want to help then please email your MP and ask when the prison reforms mention by David Cameron will be introduced? More details and how to contact your MP can be found at the end of this book in the ‘ask your MP’ chapter.
Chapter 6. Why I changed from Game keeper to Poacher
With two shattering blows in less than six months my outlook on life had totally changed. I didn’t give a dam about myself and I wanted someone to pay for the early death of my beloved wife and someone to pay for the way I had been treated by Her Majesty’s Prison service after giving it over twenty years of my life. I was also sick to my back teeth with the inaction taken by both Labour and Conservative governments to correct the same problems that I was supposed to resolve year after year. What the prison service didn’t realise was that I had a database of hundreds of life-long criminals and as I was good at organising things. I would use these three things to both gain revenge and hopefully put the great back in front of Britain again.
Before I get to the heist I planned, I want to share with you some situations that happened whilst I was a prison counsellor, all of which will highlight what is actually wrong with this country as the majority of its failures, end up at the prison gate. These stories also helped me to decide to jump ship.
Prison itself isn’t working and the following chapters will show you problems that occur on a regular basis and need fixing fast. Subjects covered are Rape in prison, Drugs in British prisons, Bullying, IPP, Muslim inmates, UK housing crisis, Austerity, Brexit, Coronavirus, Racism, Non-Don Status, Greedy Companies and the UK PAYE system.
Chapter 7. Rape in prison
Sexual abuse in Britain’s penal system is a major problem for both the victim and prison staff as many victims are too scared to speak out. Transgender and gay prisoners are at higher risk of sexual assault than heterosexual inmates. All the officers can do is to keep an eye and ear open and if possible, relocate the victims to a safer section of the prison.
I’ll never forget the day all hell was let loose when the screams of a prisoner echoed around the west wing. It was during a so called open door stage of the day when prisoners were returned to their particular wing but instead of locking all the cells doors, they were left open so that inmates could chat and play together securely locked in their prison wing. This meant that prisoners could visit other inmates’ cells to play cards, swap books and even trade in what merchandise they had which was usually drugs. Prison officers could then relax with very few problems. That was until this day.
A loud scream came from the west wings hard man Sean Bailey who shared a cell with one other inmate. Sean Bailey is in his early forties with thinning hair and was built like a German shithouse. When I arrived at his cell, I could see a lot of blood on the floor and especially on his bunk. It was obvious that someone had either got hold of a knife and couldn’t take abuse or a beating from the hard man any longer and reacted with force. What surprised me was that the blood was coming from an open wound on Sean’s penis. It looked as if he was about to bugger another inmate who r
etaliated and cut of the tip of his pride and joy. Our main priority was to call for an ambulance and try to stop the bleeding before Sean bled out. I had the unpleasant task of tying a tourniquet to Sean’s penis which may have saved his life. Before sending Sean on his way the paramedic asked if anyone had found the tip of Sean’s penis as sometimes the surgeon can stitch things back on. We searched high and low but couldn’t see it, which seemed strange. In the end we gave up and Sean was on his way to the hospital with a prison guard handcuffed to him.
As soon as he was gone, I instructed all prisoners to return to their cells as there would be a lock in and a full inspection of all cells and inmates. Sean’s cell mate was Tom Grace who was a skinny man in his mid-forties, and he was questioned first in my office whilst his cell was fully searched and cleaned up. I asked Tom what he had seen but I may have well asked the brick wall. He said that he was elsewhere on the wing when he had heard the scream but this, I knew was a lie as Tom was always close at hand to do Sean’s wishes. I even assumed that he also wiped Sean’s bum after using the in-cell toilet. Tom was a timid man who wouldn’t fart without first asking Sean’s permission. He was playing dumb as Sean hadn’t told him what to say. Once Sean’s cell had been checked and no sign of any unwanted body parts were found we then started to question everyone on the wing.
It didn’t take long to find the culprit as two cells down Timmy Willis resided with James Wells and Timmy had a small spec of blood on his right ear that he had obviously missed when cleaning himself up. Timmy who was 23 had long blonde hair that he kept tied back in a ponytail. He also had sea blue eyes and a pale pink complexion. I asked Timmy how he had a spec of blood on his right ear. He came back very quickly to say that he had cut himself shaving. Not a very good answer as only electric razors were allowed for obvious reasons. He continued to play dumb and after a while I went behind him and lifted his ponytail. He started to panic and asked me what I was doing. I said that I was just checking because I was once told that if you lift a pony’s tail all you will see is its arsehole. He didn’t laugh and I shouted to him to stop being an arsehole and tell me what happened so I could deal with it before it went upstairs to the governor and several years were added to his current sentence. He looked at me and could see that I wasn’t messing about and he just sat there and started to cry and cry. I let him get on with it for several minutes and then sat back after informing him that I was all ears. Timmy who was serving 18 months for drug offences started rambling on about how he couldn’t take it anymore. I asked him if he wanted a cup of tea or would he prefer coffee. He said he would die for a lovely Costa cappuccino, but a cup of tea or coffee would do.
Once he was settled, I asked him to start from the beginning. What he told me was quite shocking and after 20 years in the service I thought that I had heard and seen it all but I was wrong. He said that it started just days after his arrival and due to his looks most thought that he was gay, but they were wrong. He said that he had nothing against gays as what someone does behind closed doors is their business. It took less than a week for Sean Bailey to claim me as his and no one could touch me or even look at me in the wrong way. I thought that I had landed on my two feet and found myself a fairy godmother who would look after me here. However, a few days later during the open doors session I was told to report to Sean as he wanted me. My cell mate at the time giggled when he heard the part about “wanting me” and I didn’t click on at the time.
A few minutes after arriving in Sean’s cell he told his mate to guard the door as he wanted some time to get to know me better. I thought he just wanted to talk but how could I be so thick or should it be naïve to think that. It took only seconds to realise that he was going to bugger me, and it would be pointless to try and fight back as he was much stronger than me. In the end I just closed my eyes and tried to think of nice holidays I had enjoyed but the pain was too much, and I ended up passing out. His cell mate threw some water over my face and told me to dress and get back to my cell and not to tell anyone what had happened, or it would be bad news for me. He drew a finger across his throat making sure I got the message loud and clear. I went back to my cell and cried like a baby.
The abuse went on for a few weeks and in the end, I did tell a warden, but I was told not to be silly and just accept it as being part of my sentence. I asked Timmy why he hadn’t asked to see me, but he said that he had but was told that I was on leave looking after a sick family member. So, Timmy went on as he wanted to tell his side of the story before he lost his nerve. He said that it had been going on for some time now, but he wasn’t being used as much as he had been when it all started. Well by the time I was called to his cell today I had made up my mind that I wasn’t going to be used any longer. I knew I couldn’t fight him off and that it was pointless telling a warden, so I came up with the only thing that I could do.
As usual Sean was waiting for me and he told his cell mate to stand guard outside the door. As soon as he had left, I told Sean that last time we had sex he really hurt me and had caused a rip in the walls of my anus. Could he please spare me for a few more days? He said no as he had been looking forward to this for some time and he was all worked up. I said that I could give him a blow job instead, but I knew he didn’t really like a BJ as much as he liked anal sex. I said that I was good at giving a BJ and he would really like it. If he didn’t then he could have me as usual. He said that he was willing to give it a go and he dropped his trousers and presented me with his already hard cock which stank to high heaven. I got down on my knees and started to lick up from his balls to his helmet and paid special attention to the part just below his helmet. He started to moan and told me to get it inside my mouth, but I had better not scratch his meat with my teeth or I would be in big trouble. I did as I was ordered, and he really started to enjoy it but he started to push in to hard trying to get it down my throat. I have had oral sex before with a few girlfriends, so knew what a man liked but I never tried to get it all in but had come in their mouths on several occasions. Some liked the taste but others didn’t, so I only tried it on again with the ones I knew liked the taste. There were plenty of other ways to satisfy both partner’s needs. Well I didn’t like it down my throat and decided to carry out my plan and face the consequences as it couldn’t be any harder than what was going on here with apparently everyone’s blessing.
On the outward stroke I stopped just as the helmet of his massive 9-inch cock reached my teeth. Then all hell was let loose and Sean started to scream as I bit into the helmet of his penis. I moved my head from side to side giving my teeth a saw like action and as Sean pushed on my head trying to dislodge me it gave me the extra leverage to bite through his meat, with the helmet firmly in my mouth. I turned and spat it out into the cell toilet and flushed. I then ran out and headed for my cell just as all the prisoners from the other cells were poking their heads around their cell doors trying to see what had gone on.
Having finished telling me his side of the story Jimmy asked me what will happen next. I told him that it will depend what the outcome with Sean is because he had lost a lot of blood and if he died then there was no way I could cover that up. I told Jimmy to return to his cell and say nothing to anyone and we will sit back and wait to see what develops. A few days passed and the good news is that Sean made it but he will never be the same again. Without the helmet of his pride and joy there was little doctors could do. They managed to install a small tube into the urinary meatus but using his penis for anything apart from peeing will be impossible. Some would say that after what he had done to his fellow prisoners, he got what he deserved. I did go and visit him as soon has he was well enough to be interviewed as I needed to get his side of the story so that I could send a full report to the governor. He basically said the same as Jimmy, but he said that it was Jimmy who had fallen in love with him and he wanted to show his love by giving me a blow job.
I told Sean that he had just said what I expected him to say but I made it noticeably clear that his
story about Jimmy being the instigator of the sexual happenings was a load of bull shit. He ranted and raved about how he was going to sue the prison and Jimmy but I soon brought him back to earth with a bang when I told him that 15 other prisoners had made a complaint since the incident and all were willing to testify in court that he had raped them. I said that we could play this two ways, firstly, he could try and sue but with Jimmy and 15 others willing to go public he stood little chance of winning. What he would be doing by trying to sue HMP is giving the tabloids a cheap and funny story. The second option would be to say nothing, and I would get him transferred to another prison. He couldn’t come back to us as the other inmates would get together and finish him off. He soon decided that a transfer would be best.
When I got back to my office in the prison, I called Timmy with the good news and he was pleased. I also told him that he would have to submit to various blood test to check that he was clear of HIV as this could have been caused by the Sean’s blood that he had in his mouth. He wasn’t pleased to hear that, but I told him that it was unlikely but worth checking out. I had placed Timmy on our drug rehabilitation course, and he had done well.
Chapter 8. Drugs in British prisons
As with the outside world drugs are a mammoth problem for the prison service. You would think that an establishment that was surrounded by high walls and secure gates it wouldn’t have a drug problem, but I can tell you that you are totally wrong in your thinking.
The Bedford Heist Page 4
