Crisis at UK’s biggest jail as EIGHTEEN female guards are fired for affairs with inmates
EIGHTEEN female guards at a single jail have been fired or forced to resign for having illicit relationships with inmates.
Three staff members at HMP Berwyn in Wrexham, Wales - dubbed the "cushiest" prison in Britain - were even caged themselves.
A Freedom of Information inquiry revealed that six employees were sacked and 12 have quit at the Category C facility, which is the largest in the UK, reports.
All had, or were suspected of having, affairs with lags since it was built in February 2017.
Jennifer Gavan, 27, Ayshea Gunn, 27, and Emily Watson, 26, were all jailed within the last three years for getting too close to prisoners.
They were caught sending explicit photographs, having sex in cells and exchanging intimate phone calls.
READ MORE UK NEWS
All 500 employees are now given anti-corruption training in a bid to stop flings with any of the 2,100 men locked up.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "The vast majority of Prison Service staff are hardworking and honest but we are doing more than ever to catch the small number who break the rules."
A spokesperson for the Prison Service added: "Over 500 members of staff at HMP Berwyn have undertaken corruption prevention training in the last 18 months and our enhanced security is protecting the prison against attempts to smuggle illicit items inside.
"Our frontline staff are nothing short of heroes – undergoing an extremely tough and demanding job day-in day-out to get criminals back on the straight and narrow and keep our streets safe.
Most read in The Sun
"It is for their sake we will never tolerate those few officers who think they are above the law.
"That’s why our newly bolstered Counter Corruption Team is working around the clock to root out and clamp down on those who undermine our exemplary service with their dangerous behaviour and ensure they face the strongest possible consequences for their crimes."
In December, corrupt prison officer Gavan, of Wrexham, wept as she was jailed for eight months.
She pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office between April and July 2020 at Berwyn for allegedly entering into an inappropriate relationship with Alex Coxon, accepting £150 to bring a mobile phone inside, and communicating with him via WhatsApp on the illegally held device.
In 2019, probation officer Gunn was locked up for 12 months following a fling with "dangerous" inmate Khuram Razaq, 29, who was serving 12 years for conspiracy to rob.
Criminology and psychology graduate Gunn made numerous phone calls, some sexually explicit, exchanged "highly sexualised" images, and smuggled a pair of knickers for him inside her bra.
Mold crown court heard she kept photos of the pair kissing and hugging in her bedroom, including some snaps taken in his cell.
The same year, prison officer Watson was jailed after performing a sex act on an inmate in his cell on Christmas Day.
Dealer John McGee was serving eight years for causing death by dangerous driving at the time.
HMP Berwyn, which cost £250million, was dubbed the UK's "cushiest" jail as it looks more like a hotel than a prison.
The cells have no bars on the windows and come with en-suites, laptops, TVs and phones.
Inmates can attend a range of workshops and a use a dedicated "health and wellbeing centre".
READ MORE SUN STORIES
There is also a sports hall, gym, football pitches, games area, library and education block.
Prisoners can even lock their own cells from the inside, it is said.
