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Sam Walker: Prisoner posted YouTube videos of life behind bars | Sam Walker: Prisoner posted YouTube videos of life behind bars |
(40 minutes later) | |
More action is needed to stop mobile phones entering jails after a prisoner was able to set up a YouTube channel from his cell, a union says. | More action is needed to stop mobile phones entering jails after a prisoner was able to set up a YouTube channel from his cell, a union says. |
Prison Officers' Association chairman Mark Fairhurst said it was "frustrating" prisoners were finding "ingenious" ways to hide phones. | |
Drug dealer Sam Walker was found using a smuggled phone to run a YouTube and Twitter account from Leeds jail. | Drug dealer Sam Walker was found using a smuggled phone to run a YouTube and Twitter account from Leeds jail. |
Mr Fairhurst said body scanners and signal-blocking technology were needed. | |
The Ministry of Justice said Walker had since been moved to HMP Peterborough, but his social media activity has apparently continued. | The Ministry of Justice said Walker had since been moved to HMP Peterborough, but his social media activity has apparently continued. |
His Twitter account has more than 19,000 followers and carries the description "unofficial account being run until Sam's home". | His Twitter account has more than 19,000 followers and carries the description "unofficial account being run until Sam's home". |
It also links to a YouTube channel, which carries videos captured in Leeds. | It also links to a YouTube channel, which carries videos captured in Leeds. |
One video, published on 10 August, purportedly shows Walker in a room with notorious armed robber Charles Bronson. | One video, published on 10 August, purportedly shows Walker in a room with notorious armed robber Charles Bronson. |
A caption alongside the video said: "Big Charlie Bronson becomes camera shy while I video him. All 6ft5ins & 20 stone of him." | A caption alongside the video said: "Big Charlie Bronson becomes camera shy while I video him. All 6ft5ins & 20 stone of him." |
Mr Fairhurst said prison staff believed somebody outside the jail was posting the material on Walker's behalf. | |
He said prison officers had tried and failed to find a phone in Walker's cell, and he may have concealed it "in his person". | He said prison officers had tried and failed to find a phone in Walker's cell, and he may have concealed it "in his person". |
He said: "What we need is for the officers to get in that cell and get [the phone] off him, but they have ingenious ways of hiding mobile phones. | He said: "What we need is for the officers to get in that cell and get [the phone] off him, but they have ingenious ways of hiding mobile phones. |
"If in fact he uses the popular choice, and he secretes the mobile phone in his person, we do not have the authority to take it from him. | "If in fact he uses the popular choice, and he secretes the mobile phone in his person, we do not have the authority to take it from him. |
"We're very reliant on storming in his cell and getting it while he's using it. It is very frustrating." | "We're very reliant on storming in his cell and getting it while he's using it. It is very frustrating." |
In 2018, 36-year-old Walker also posted videos while on the run in Sierra Leone before his eventual arrest. | In 2018, 36-year-old Walker also posted videos while on the run in Sierra Leone before his eventual arrest. |
Yet despite the move, his social media activity has continued, with the prisoner posting a photograph of himself at the jail. | Yet despite the move, his social media activity has continued, with the prisoner posting a photograph of himself at the jail. |
A spokesman for Sedexo, which runs the jail in conjunction with the MOJ, said "immediate action" had been taken, but declined to say what form that action took. | A spokesman for Sedexo, which runs the jail in conjunction with the MOJ, said "immediate action" had been taken, but declined to say what form that action took. |
Twitter and YouTube have been approached for a comment. | Twitter and YouTube have been approached for a comment. |
Mr Fairhurst said: "Realistically, as we've been highlighting, we want the technology in our jails to prevent mobile phone signals. | Mr Fairhurst said: "Realistically, as we've been highlighting, we want the technology in our jails to prevent mobile phone signals. |
"That technology is available. It can isolate specific points in a prison. Of course, it costs money. I get the impression it's all down to funding." | "That technology is available. It can isolate specific points in a prison. Of course, it costs money. I get the impression it's all down to funding." |