Latest news with #EmmaFrench
The Sun
10 hours ago
- The Sun
Dark secrets of ‘UK's Guantanamo Bay' where murderers are punished with trips to ‘The Box' & no inmate has EVER escaped
SOME call it the UK's Guantanamo Bay, others know it simply as Hellmarsh. With a level of security second to none, no prisoner has ever successfully escaped from HMP Belmarsh, but now its most chilling secrets can be revealed - from secret hellhole punishment cells to inmates' brutal games. 9 9 Through accounts of daily routines, brutal fights, gang warfare, drug smuggling and moments of unexpected redemption, my new book uncovers the truth about life inside Hellmarsh. A former inmate told fellow author Emma French and I: 'HMP Belmarsh is a brutal place, and every movement around the jail is along long internal walkways. Every move you make is monitored. 'It is run by staff who set examples to instill fear into you. They have a saying: 'Treat them as you expect to be treated.' 'If you keep your head down, you will be left alone, but if you are rude then they will target you. 'The Ministry of Justice will of course never admit their prison is run on intimidation with a hard line, but it is. 'To be fair to them, as much as I personally am not a fan of Belmarsh, given the serious nature of some of the offenders' offences, I guess it has to be run in a firm and brutal fashion to keep good order and discipline.' Belmarsh, in south east London, is the only prison in England and Wales with a 'prison within a prison', otherwise known as the High-Security Unit (HSU). Surrounded by 20-foot-high concrete walls and monitored by 96 cameras, it's designed to house some of the most dangerous criminals in the country. While Belmarsh can hold up to 910 men, just 48 can be confined within the HSU at any given time. The prison also contains a segregation unit and two notorious cells known as The Boxes. These are bleak, windowless isolation rooms with no beds, sinks or toilets. Over the years, the HSU has held a chilling mix of IRA bombers, KGB spies, al-Qaeda terrorists and even Charles Bronson, whose violent reputation earned him his own private wing. Yet, despite its Category A prisoners, Belmarsh also functions as a standard prison. Around one in five inmates is a convicted murderer, yet many others serve time for lesser offences. How do staff balance handling petty criminals alongside serial rapists, terrorists and gang leaders? And what happens when such high-risk individuals are forced to coexist? As one former Belmarsh inmate put it: 'Over the years, you can be sure that with all the high-profile cases heard at the Central Criminal Court or Woolwich Crown Court, the offenders were detained at HMP Belmarsh. 'Some of whom I have personally met: Mark Dixie (The Sally Anne Bowman case), Steve Wright (The Suffolk Strangler), Stuart Hazell (The Tia Sharp murder in Croydon), Barry George (The Jill Dando case), John Worboys (The Black Cab Rapist). 'Also Wayne Couzens (The Sarah Everard case), Steven Barker (The Baby P case), John Duffy (the 1980s railway killer), Kenny Noye, Ian Huntley (The Soham Murders), and Lea Rusha, Roger Coutts, Stuart Royle, Ermir Hysenaj, and Jetmir Bucpapa, who all pulled the largest cash robbery in UK history – the Securitas robbery in Tonbridge, Kent, in February 2006.' His list didn't end there, either: ' Terrorists, the London bombers, The Hatton Garden Job crew. 'Many high-profile cases over the years have had the pleasure of experiencing the harsh regime at HMP Belmarsh.' 9 9 'Many were completely messed up' Former Conservative Cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken served time in Belmarsh after being convicted of perjury and became something of confidante to many lags. What really struck Jonathan was their vulnerability. He explained: 'Many were completely messed up. One guy, I found out, should have been released already, but nobody had told him. 'All the time, I felt like I was on the funny farm, yet at the same time, people confided in me. ''Do you think my wife will ever let me back?' or 'How will I ever lift up my head again?' 'I was a middle-class bloke, and there was a lot of agony-aunting. But I did feel I was being of some use.' A prisoner officer warned the ex MP he was to be moved, saying, 'Aitken, you're going to Beirut.' Another inmate warned: 'Oh, don't go to Beirut. That's where the real hard men are. If you get on the wrong side of them, they'll crush your balls, mate.' Aitken added: 'I had no idea what he meant. Eventually, I learned Beirut was just B Wing. 'That night, I heard a ritual called 'doing a quizzy'. Inmates shouted questions across the wing. "Sometimes they were crude. 'Who'd like to s**g Officer S?' 9 9 'Sometimes they were coded messages. 'Remember to tell the court the car was green.' 'But that night, it was about me. 'What are we gonna do to him?' 'Let's eat his balls!' 'Let's give him a good kicking!' 'It was nasty. They were high on drugs, but it was still terrifying. The threats felt real, and I took them seriously. 'I have never felt more lonely, frightened or vulnerable. I knelt and tried to say a prayer, but I was too scared." Prison jobs for monsters 9 Some prisoners are allowed to work at Belmarsh. Ex prisoner Mike observed that in his experience, some of the best prison jobs went to the worst people. He revealed: 'The honour killing. The guy who put his daughter in a suitcase. He made tea for the prison officers at Belmarsh. Some multiple murderers, horrible human beings, get privileges like that.' He's talking about the case of Mahmod Mahmod, who orchestrated the murder of his own daughter with accomplices including her uncle. Mike recalled another depraved murderer having a degree of responsibility in Belmarsh, too. He said: 'The Colindale killer has a funny eye. He had a job giving out milk. He killed a woman on an allotment because he wanted to run the allotment.' Mike is referring to Rahim Mohammadi, who strangled 80-year-old widow Lea Adri-Soejoko with a lawnmower cable in February 2017 at an allotments plot in London. I have never felt more lonely, frightened or vulnerable. I knelt and tried to say a prayer, but I was too scared. Jonathan Aitken One ex-inmate of several prisons described the exercise yard at Belmarsh as "small and secure, nowhere near the boundary fence. 'No spur (wing) mixes with another spur on exercise. The surrounding fence and wall are huge with razor wire running around the top, CCTV watching your every move. 'If you stop and bend down to pick something up off the floor you are challenged there and then. 'This is even after the exercise yard was previously checked and searched by staff prior to the inmates even going out on the yard. 'I guess a testament to their paranoid security measures. There are posters on the walls throughout the prison warning staff. They state, 'Believe nothing, check everything, keep calm and carry on.'' Former officer Nik said of the meals served up: 'The food was grim. But sometimes we ate it. Some of the curries were actually okay.'
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Floating Classrooms returning, but On the Water seeks rescue
May 25—CLAYTON — Save The River's Floating Classroom is back this summer with more days on the water being added to the schedule. But funding for a related program held during the school year has been cut, resulting in a fund drive to keep it operating. Floating Classroom Camp Days of summer offer students the chance to learn about the St. Lawrence River ecosystem through a variety of lessons and activities, including guest presentations from partners like the Thousand Islands Biological Station, St. Lawrence Eastern Lake Ontario Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management, the Minna Anthony Common Nature Center, the U.S. Coast Guard, local college professors and more. The Floating Classroom is the summer version of Save The River's "On the Water" program, which is in financial jeopardy after 16 years in operation. Both programs take students on boat field trips, but On the Water is organized with teachers during the school year to take their classes out on the St. Lawrence River. Due to federal funding cuts throughout New York State, Save the River announced recently that its On the Water education program is no longer eligible for a grant. Earlier this year, the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation announced new guidelines for their Connect Kids to Parks Field Trip grant. Funding from this program originally covered the cost of boat transportation to and from popular sites along the St. Lawrence, like state parks only accessible by water. The new stipulations no longer cover the cost of boat transportation "Save the River is concerned about the funding cuts because On the Water is our most accessible way to put students on the water," said Emma French, outreach coordinator for Save the River. "Being directly through the schools, parents don't need to worry about extra costs, drop off and pick up, etcetera. Floating Classroom is an independent sign-up for parents in the summer and open to both local and seasonal students." Save The River has launched a fund drive to sponsor the On the Water program, which operates with the help of Clayton Island Tours. Field trip boats are specifically designed to immerse students in the St. Lawrence River. The nonprofit is asking $30 to sponsor a student, which would allow that student from a local school access to experience the ecological importance of the river. For details on making a donation, go to For this summer's Floating Classroom program, mornings will include guided boat tours along different sections of the river thanks to partners like the Antique Boat Museum and Clayton Island Tours. Camp days run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with varying drop-off locations depending on the programming. There is a $10 registration fee per student. For students in grade 1 to 5, Save The River is holding two camp days: July 28th at the Minna Anthony Common Nature Center and Aug. 14 at the Antique Boat Museum. For middle and high school students, a camp day with the Thousand Islands Biological Station is on July 17 and the second is Aug. 4 at the nature center. To register or for more information, go to STR Education Coordinator Dan Bellinger is also available for questions at education@ or (315) 686-2010.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Floating Classrooms returning, but On the Water seeks rescue
May 25—CLAYTON — Save The River's Floating Classroom is back this summer with more days on the water being added to the schedule. But funding for a related program held during the school year has been cut, resulting in a fund drive to keep it operating. Floating Classroom Camp Days of summer offer students the chance to learn about the St. Lawrence River ecosystem through a variety of lessons and activities, including guest presentations from partners like the Thousand Islands Biological Station, St. Lawrence Eastern Lake Ontario Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management, the Minna Anthony Common Nature Center, the U.S. Coast Guard, local college professors and more. The Floating Classroom is the summer version of Save The River's "On the Water" program, which is in financial jeopardy after 16 years in operation. Both programs take students on boat field trips, but On the Water is organized with teachers during the school year to take their classes out on the St. Lawrence River. Due to federal funding cuts throughout New York State, Save the River announced recently that its On the Water education program is no longer eligible for a grant. Earlier this year, the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation announced new guidelines for their Connect Kids to Parks Field Trip grant. Funding from this program originally covered the cost of boat transportation to and from popular sites along the St. Lawrence, like state parks only accessible by water. The new stipulations no longer cover the cost of boat transportation "Save the River is concerned about the funding cuts because On the Water is our most accessible way to put students on the water," said Emma French, outreach coordinator for Save the River. "Being directly through the schools, parents don't need to worry about extra costs, drop off and pick up, etcetera. Floating Classroom is an independent sign-up for parents in the summer and open to both local and seasonal students." Save The River has launched a fund drive to sponsor the On the Water program, which operates with the help of Clayton Island Tours. Field trip boats are specifically designed to immerse students in the St. Lawrence River. The nonprofit is asking $30 to sponsor a student, which would allow that student from a local school access to experience the ecological importance of the river. For details on making a donation, go to For this summer's Floating Classroom program, mornings will include guided boat tours along different sections of the river thanks to partners like the Antique Boat Museum and Clayton Island Tours. Camp days run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with varying drop-off locations depending on the programming. There is a $10 registration fee per student. For students in grade 1 to 5, Save The River is holding two camp days: July 28th at the Minna Anthony Common Nature Center and Aug. 14 at the Antique Boat Museum. For middle and high school students, a camp day with the Thousand Islands Biological Station is on July 17 and the second is Aug. 4 at the nature center. To register or for more information, go to STR Education Coordinator Dan Bellinger is also available for questions at education@ or (315) 686-2010.
