Former prison officer and inmate lift the lid on £250M HMP Berwyn

Inside Britain’s sex scandal jail: Former prison officer and inmate lift the lid on £250M HMP Berwyn where 18 female guards have been fired for left for illicit affairs with convicts in just six years

• EXCLUSIVE: Ex-prisoner from HMP Berwyn dubs the prison a ‘s***show’
• 18 female guards ‘fired or resigned for having illicit sexual affairs with prisoners’ 

The epidemic of sex and smuggling scandals at HMP Berwyn – dubbed Britain’s cushiest jail – is the result of naïve, vulnerable and poorly educated staff, a prison training manager and an inmate have revealed.

Eighteen female guards have reportedly been fired or resigned for having illicit sexual affairs with prisoners – some involving smuggling phones and drugs – since the £250million prison opened six years ago.

Set in a sprawling industrial estate in Wrexham, north Wales, the state-of-the-art jail promised to bring a bright future of rehabilitation and training to more than 2,100 medium-risk category ‘C’ prisoners.

However, many were left in shock after the sexually-charged criminal trials of four young prison guards – Jennifer Gavan, 27, Ayshea Gunn, 25, Emily Watson, 26, and Roxanne Walker, 34 – who all had relationships with prisoners.

Now a prison officer training manager and a former inmate have both blamed the epidemic in sex and smuggling at HMP Berwyn on naïve, vulnerable and poorly educated staff.

Reformed armed robber Alex Coxon, 25, condemned HMP Berwyn as a ‘s***show’ run by ‘corrupt staff’ who are ‘straight out of Tesco’ and ‘didn’t got a clue’.

He told MailOnline that drugs are rife inside the jail, which is run by gangster prisoners who coerce vulnerable prison staff to do their bidding. 

Prison officer Ayshea Gunn, 27, (right) was caught having an affair with inmate Khuram Razaq (left) in the cells of HMP Berwyn

Armed robber Alex Coxon, 25, had an affair with prison guard Jennifer Gavan (pictured). Coxon told MailOnline HMP Berwyn was a ‘s***show’ run by ‘corrupt staff’ who are ‘straight out of Tesco’ and ‘didn’t got a clue’

Former shop assistant manager Gavan (pictured) had fallen in love with Coxon and arranged to be alone with him when he was on cleaning duty at the prison

Prison officer Ayshea Gunn (pictured) was just 25 when she fell under the spell of charismatic career criminal Khuram Razaq in HMP Berwyn

Jennifer Gavan, 27, Ayshea Gunn, 25, Emily Watson, 26, (pictured) and Roxanne Walker, 34, all had relationships with prisoners at HMP Berwyn

Roxanne Walker, 34, (pictured) will avoid prison after engaging in ‘sexually explicit’ chats with an inmate at  HMP Berwyn in Wrexham, North Wales

Coxon had been serving eight years in jail for two robberies when he was given ten months more for his role in the smuggling of an illicit mobile phone into the jail by prison officer Jennifer Gavan.

Former shop assistant manager Gavan had fallen in love with Coxon and arranged to be alone with him when he was on cleaning duty at the prison.

She sent sexually explicit videos of herself to him on a phone she smuggled in for £150. 

During her trial, the court heard Coxon – who the judge said had an ‘appalling’ record – had been caught trying to pass a phone to another inmate, using dental floss to drag it across a corridor.

Coxon denied there were any ulterior motives to his relationship with Gavan.

He told MailOnline: ‘Me and Jenny wasn’t about getting stuff in. It was about spending time together and then the relationship grew from there.’

He wouldn’t discuss who the phone was for or why he had asked Gavan for it.

He said: ‘I’ve done my time [in prison] and I’m never going back. I’ve got a job now, I work in construction and I’ve got a future.’

Gavan told the court she had felt sorry for Coxen who was struggling with the enforced lockdown during Covid.

Ex prison officer Jennifer Gavan, left, was jailed for eight months after she smuggled a mobile phone into the prison for her lover Alex Coxon, right. She sent Coxon intimate messages and photographs over Snapchat

Gavan told the court she had felt sorry for Coxen who was struggling with the enforced lockdown during Covid

In December, mother-of-one Gavan (pictured outside Wrexham Magistrates court) broke down in tears when she was jailed for eight months for misconduct in public office

Her bank account revealed she received two transfer payments totalling £200 from Coxon’s sister.

Gavan was not at the modest address she gave to the court at her trial when MailOnline asked her for comment, but a relative claimed, ‘Jenny was used.’

In December, mother-of-one Gavan broke down in tears when she was jailed for eight months for misconduct in public office. 

Coxon’s explosive verdict on Britain’s flagship jail was almost identically matched by a former prison officer training manager at HMP Berwyn.

Prison officer Ayshea Gunn (pictured) was just 25 when she fell under the spell of charismatic career criminal Khuram Razaq in HMP Berwyn

Prison officer Ayshea Gunn (left) was jailed for one year at Mold Crown Court in 2019 after having an affair with dangerous criminal Khuram Razaq (right) at HMP Berwyn in North Wales

She exchanged 1,200 phone calls with the prisoner – including explicit video calls and smuggled a pair of her knickers into her lover’s cell

It was 2018 when Gunn, who is from a suburb of Wrexham, was persuaded to embark on a high sexualized affair with an inmate

Khuram Razaq pictured in handcuffs leaving Mold Crown Court during Gunn’s trial

Ayshea Gunn, 27, in handcuffs on her way to prison after being jailed for the illicit affair 

Senior manager John Buttress, who previously worked as a Chief Inspector for Greater Manchester Police, said the high salary offered at HMP Berwyn to unskilled workers with no life experience was attracting ‘naïve, inexperienced and poorly educated staff’ who could not cope with the gruelling dog-eat-dog world behind bars.

He told MailOnline: ‘The people running the jail are amateurs. They don’t understand the people they are dealing with and don’t have the staff to deal with them.

‘Prisoners at HMP Berwyn can be very manipulative. They are stuck in their cells for 18 hours a day and have nothing better than to do than work out how to coerce a prison officer.

‘It starts very gently with a something small like a mobile phone card. Once the prisoner has them then they are hooked.

‘The officer will be blackmailed and soon enough they will be bringing in whatever they are told – phones, drugs, whatever.

‘There are some very clever and devious men inside the prison. They are very bright, street-smart and know how operate behind bars.

‘A prison is run by the inmates. Make no mistake about that.’

A cell at HMP Berwyn in a photo from 2017 – rooms all have a phone for outgoing calls 

A cell at HMP Berwyn in a photo from 2017 – rooms all have a phone for outgoing calls 

 A total of 18 female guards at HMP Berwyn in Wrexham, North Wales, have been fired or have resigned for having illicit affairs with inmates

Roxanne Walker, 34, was spotted by colleagues giggling with ‘manipulative’ criminal Daniel Walker at £250m HMP Berwyn in Wrexham, North Wales

The flagship prison opened with fanfare in 2017. It had been running for just five months when prison officer Emily Watson arranged at least three trysts with her gangster lover Paul McGee.

McGee was serving an eight-year sentence for a hit-and-run after causing the death of charity worker Richard Bratin, 51, during a high-speed police car chase.

McGee had been in prison for supplying class A drugs but was out on licence when, in December 2015, he was trying to evade arrest once more, speeding through the streets of Walton, Liverpool, and ploughing into Mr Bratin, who was walking his dog. He then drove off and left him for dead.

Mr Bratin’s devastated family later labelled McGee as ‘vermin’.

By October 2017, Watson and McGee had started to communicate via Instagram on an iPhone McGee kept in his cell, hidden in a Playstation he opened with a screwdriver disguised as a pen. At Watson’s suggestion, he had put her contact details under a false name.

The pair had ‘virtual sex’ over FaceTime, while CCTV footage showed she had visited McGee’s cell alone three times.

Emily Watson (left) was jailed for one year after she performed a sex act on inmate John McGee (right). McGee was serving an eight-year sentence for a hit-and-run after causing the death of charity worker Richard Bratin, 51, during a high-speed police car chase

The flagship prison opened with fanfare in 2017. It had been running for just five months when prison officer Emily Watson (pictured outside Mold Crown Court) arranged at least three trysts with her gangster lover Paul McGee

The pair had ‘virtual sex’ over FaceTime, while CCTV footage showed she had visited McGee’s cell alone three times. Pictured: McGee gestures after leaving Mold Crown Court in handcuffs

McGee had been in prison for supplying class A drugs but was out on licence when, in December 2015, he was trying to evade arrest once more, speeding through the streets of Walton, Liverpool, and ploughing into Richard Bratin, 51, (pictured) who was walking his dog. He then drove off and left him for dead. Mr Bratin’s devastated family later labelled McGee as ‘vermin’

They had sex once and she performed sex acts on him on two other occasions – one of which was on Christmas Day.

Watson was jailed for one year.

Mr Buttress, who has worked in the crime and justice sector for more than 30 years, revealed to MailOnline how female prison officers are seduced, groomed and bullied into working for the jail’s gangsters.

He said: ‘A newly recruited prison officer earns in excess of £28,000.

‘For many of them it’s their first proper job but it does not attract compliments. No one wants to praise them in the pub for being a gaoler.

‘So, if a naïve young woman finds the attention she is lacking inside the prison, this can lead to inappropriate relationships.

‘And you must remember that the men behind bars will be showing off their glamorous lifestyles outside – their fast cars, their expensive watches and clothes.

‘They may be behind bars now, but they will be out in a couple of years at most, they say.’

READ MORE: Instagram vs reality: How crooks’ social media snaps compare to their court appearances

Prisoner officers also fall in love with their charges – and go on to break the law because of them, Mr Buttress explained.

‘The jail gangsters assess new arrivals to determine if they can be of any use.

‘So, if there is a good-looking young man, he may be ordered to cosy up to a young female officer to try to recruit her.

‘This is another way that some officers are coerced, conned or manipulated into forming these disastrous relationships.

‘Once they’re trapped the only way to stop them is by random searches on their way into work.

‘That’s when you can find out who is smuggling in contraband.’

Gavan and Watson weren’t the only guards couple to have sexual affairs with prisoners. 

Disgraced prison officer Roxanne Walker appeared to have suffered the same fate.

Described by colleagues as vulnerable, she was spotted giggling with ‘manipulative’ prisoner Daniel Carter before she admitted to ‘falling in love’ with the inmate.

She was spared jail but handed a suspended sentence.

Meanwhile, prison officer Ayshea Gunn was just 25 when she fell under the spell of charismatic career criminal Khuram Razaq in HMP Berwyn.

In 2008, Razaq was jailed for ten years at Birmingham crown court for armed robbery and in 2015 got twelve years for conspiracy to rob. 

It was 2018 when he persuaded young Gunn, who is from a suburb of Wrexham, to embark on a high sexualized affair.

She exchanged 1,200 phone calls – including explicit video calls and smuggled a pair of her knickers into her lover’s cell.

Gunn was jailed for 12 months. 

Criminal justice and psychology experts told MailOnline HMP Berwyn ‘obviously’ had a problem and an investigation into the sordid affairs is inevitable.

Prison therapist Alison Blackler, 55, from the Wirral, said: ‘It’s obviously a problem at that prison. Most people wouldn’t want to [have an affair with a prisoner] but there’s something going on in that prison. 

‘There’s something going on in the leadership for that many people to have themselves in this strange situation. 

‘If it’s very relaxed with not a tight regime, in that is there something that’s gone wrong with the culture of what’s acceptable? The loose rules opens up more possibilities and more things happen.

‘The governor might need to put the prison into special measures. They will have to investigate this.

‘People will want to know because it’s public money. 

‘Prisoners can be very manipulative by the nature of who they are. They teach you to know how manipulative they can be. 

‘[The guards] should know it’s wrong. They are being caught up in the drama of it. 

Prison therapist Alison Blackler, 55, (pictured) from the Wirral, said: ‘It’s obviously a problem at that prison. Most people wouldn’t want to [have an affair with a prisoner] but there’s something going on in that prison’

Professor of Criminal Justice Dr Robert M. Worley (pictured) told MailOnline: ‘Eighteen of these inappropriate relationships going on simultaneously could signify that there is something in the culture of the prison facility which is allowing these to occur’

Mental health GP Hana Patel (pictured) said the draw for prison guards to have affairs would be ‘the taboo and the illicitness and the secretive nature’

‘Is it excitement, a kind of testing the system? Can they get away with it? 

‘The attention they are paid would be quite flattering.’

She added: ‘Prisons regularly have staffing issues and there has been a big recruitment campaign generally.

‘I wonder whether the pressures that prison staff are under means that robust training hasn’t been put into place for dealing with conditioning from the prisoners. 

‘People can be very naïve and good recruitment along with adequate training about manipulation and cohesion etc is essential.’

Professor of Criminal Justice Dr Robert M. Worley told MailOnline: ‘Eighteen of these inappropriate relationships going on simultaneously could signify that there is something in the culture of the prison facility which is allowing these to occur.

‘Male inmates are very adept at identifying female guards who are vulnerable and easy to manipulate.

‘Usually, if given the right amount of time and the right opportunity, almost any prison staff member can be manipulated. 

‘Successful inmate manipulators are able to figure out which guards will be likely to cross the line and bring in contraband or have an illicit affair. 

‘Guards who have affairs with inmates usually have an emotional need that is not being met. 

‘By having a relationship or friendship with an inmate, these women think they are able to resolve problems they have outside of work. 

‘The irony is that an inappropriate relationship only compounds these problems exponentially.

‘To stop inappropriate relationships, or at least slow them down, more cameras could be placed throughout the facility. 

‘There also needs to be more training and mentorship programs as well. These problems will likely always occur whenever there is cross gender supervision.’

Mental health GP Hana Patel said the draw for prison guards to have affairs would be ‘the taboo and the illicitness and the secretive nature’. 

She said to have 18 affairs in one prison was a ‘huge number’.

Dr Patel added: ‘It sounds like the prison has a problem. How did it become normal to do that and is it still happening?

‘They need to explore and have independent interviews with [the prisoners]. They would have to have an internal and external [investigation].

‘[They need to be] exploring why these women thought it was OK to have a relationship.’

The Ministry of Justice said more than 500 HMP Berwyn staff took corruption prevention training in the last 18 months.

It said its ‘newly bolstered’ Counter Corruption Team was working around the clock and the most recent independent inspection into HMP Berwyn found security arrangements were good and the prison felt well ordered.

The MoJ added that it was renewing prison staff vetting every 10 years and piloting social media checks for prison officers.

It said that enhanced gate security at HMP Berwyn including staff searches, drug dogs and metal detectors was protecting the prison against staff smuggling contraband into the jail.

It said its £100million investment in airport-style security had already blocked more than 20,000 attempts to smuggle contraband into prisons across the country.

A Prison Service 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.’

HMP Berwyn’s governor Nick Leader declined to comment.

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