Fury as evil killers Wayne Couzens and Ian Huntley will get phones installed in their prison cells
INMATES at a jail dubbed “Monsters’ Mansion” are getting phones installed in their cells — sparking anger from cops and MPs.
Lags at HMP Frankland, including lifers Ian Huntley, Levi Bellfield and Wayne Couzens, are “buzzing” at the prospect of private calls.
Contractors are spending months installing phones in individual cells so prisoners can avoid queuing in the communal area.
A source said: “The prisoners are really excited. It seems like a massive project with loads of workmen on site. They seem to be spending a lot of money on what could be seen as a luxury.”
Critics said the scheme at the Category A-jail in Durham was open to abuse.
Former Met detective Peter Bleksley said: “The idea that monsters like Huntley and Bellfield are getting phones in their cells is outrageous. It’s beyond the pale.”
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He went on: “For someone serving a relatively small sentence, when it was a one-off, and not at the serious end of the scale, a phone to start planning your life again is not a bad idea. But for the monsters there it is terrible. I can see it being abused.”
James Daly, Tory MP and member of the Home Affairs select committee, fumed: “This is appalling. Victims of crime and taxpayers whose hard-earned money is being used to pay for these luxuries will be sickened.”
Lags at Frankland — including child murderer Huntley, serial killer Bellfield and rape killer ex-cop Couzens — have single cells with a TV, washbasin and toilet facilities.
Well-behaved inmates are often allowed Xboxes and DVD players.
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Sources said they will have conversations monitored, and can only use phones at certain times, with calls to approved contacts.
The partner of an inmate said: “I was worried he’d be able to call me at all hours of the day and night but luckily they can only use the phone until 7pm.”
A Prison Service spokesman said: “Phone use in prisons is subject to strict time limits, risk assessments and monitoring.”
A “SENSORY room”, with bean bags and a bed which vibrates to music, has been installed at HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire.
