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Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Secrets of 'Monster Mansion' prison and the UK's most dangerous inmates
Originally built as a house of correction in 1594, HMP Wakefield was rebuilt in the Victorian era and has a long history of housing our worst criminals, including the longest serving prisoner in the UK penal system Wakefield jail is nicknamed 'Monster Mansion' because it is home to some of the country's most depraved criminals. Originally built as a house of correction in 1594, it was rebuilt in the Victorian era and has a long history of housing our worst criminals. The Mirror previously reported how the longest serving prisoner in the UK penal system, "Hannibal the Cannibal' Robert Maudsley, spent his 51st Christmas behind bars last year. He holds the world record for solitary confinement, kept apart from the rest of the prison population for almost 46 years. He was first locked up for murder when he was 21 in 1974. On July 28, 1978, already serving life for double murder, Maudsley killed two fellow prisoners in Wakefield. He was said to have told a prison guard: 'There'll be two short on the roll call.' Since that day more than 46 years ago, he has spent his time in solitary. In 1983, after prison staff, including barbers, declined to see him alone, a special cell was built for him at Wakefield. His former 'neighbour' Charlie Bronson was locked up in the cell next to Maudsley's before he was moved to HMP Woodhill, Milton Keynes. During his years in Wakefield, Bronson told us about his daily 2,500 press-ups (94 every 30 seconds). He dabbled in his art, wrote for his web site, and worked on books including his life story. The calm voice at the end of the line was at odds with the public persona. "They call me Britain's most violent man," he told me before he launched his 2008 autobiography. "Every time I see it in the paper I feel like I am reading about someone else." Locked away for 23 hours a day in a 24 ft by 10 ft cell "within a cell", the view from his window a brick wall, he used exercise, art and Radio Five Live to beat the dark hours of solitude, and said proudly: "I am the King of Isolation". His stance was simple: "I believe I should have been punished. I have been punished. "Now it is time to go home, I have done my bird." It is the argument which he will now put before a Parole Board hearing. He was released in 1987 and became a bare-knuckle boxer but was jailed the following year for another armed robbery. He has spent most of his life inside for a string of attacks on warders and prisoners, earning him the reputation of Britain's most violent inmate. So far, the authorities have refused to free him due to his violent episodes behind bars. Evil child killer Roy Whiting told prison warders he was too terrified to sleep in a Wakefield cell because it is haunted by the ghost of Dr Death Harold Shipman. Whiting, who murdered eight-year-old Sarah Payne, was spooked by eerie noises and "strange goings on". He had been moved into Wakefield Prison's cell D336, the place where serial killer Shipman hanged himself 21 years ago. He complained about the 'haunting'. Many in Wakefield believed the cell was jinxed. Another inmate was found hanged there in 1987. Shipman, 58, from Hyde, Greater Manchester, murdered 284 of his patients and was sentenced to 15 life sentences. He worked on a biography of Napoleon while on D-Wing. He preferred to stay inside his cell reading books and newspapers and writing his prison diary. It contained several entries about his suicide plans. In the past, Wakefield has housed Ian Huntley. Mass murderer Jeremy Bamber is believed to still be housed there. Ian Watkins, the disgraced Lostprophets frontman, served time there after pleading guilty to 13 sex offences. After being caught with a mobile phone behind bars in 2019, Watkins told a court that he was locked up with "murderers, mass murderers, rapists, paedophiles, serial killers". "The worst of the worst," he told the judge, before another 10 months were added to his sentence. In August 2023, the Mirror revealed that Watkins was fighting for his life after three inmates held him hostage at Wakefield. Officers had to wait for an armed 'Tornado' team of specially trained riot officers to break up the situation with grenades. It was claimed that the former musician suffered from stab wounds and beatings. A 2021 Channel 5 documentary, HMP Wakefield: 'Evil Behind Bars', heard how sex offenders were considered the "lowest form of life" in the prison. One contributor to the programme referred to the inmates as the "dregs of society". Maudsley, born Robert Mawdsley on Merseyside in 1953, was first sent to Broadmoor secure hospital in 1974 after garrotting John Farrell who picked him up for sex. He earned his frightening nickname 'Hannibal the Cannibal' after killing three men being detained with him: a fellow Broadmoor patient in 1977, followed by two prisoners in 1978 when he went on the rampage in Wakefield. His nephew Gavin Mawdsley, from Liverpool, told Evil Behind Bars that his uncle had accepted his fate. He said: "He's asking to be on his own because he knows what can happen. Put him with rapists and paedophiles - I know because he told us - he is going to kill as many paedophiles as he can. "I'm not condoning what he did. But he didn't kill a child or woman. The people he killed were really bad people." A murderer who spent time in the cell next to Mawdsley told the programme: "To hold someone in an underground cage for 40 years is unforgivable. What the system has done to him amounts to psychological torture." The Ministry of Justice insisted there was 'no such thing as solitary confinement in our prison system'. A Prison Service spokesperson added: "Some offenders will be segregated if they pose a risk to others. They are allowed time in the open air every day, visits, phone calls, and access to legal advice and medical care like everyone else." The placement of offenders in segregation is 'reviewed regularly'.
Daily Record
21-05-2025
- Daily Record
Britain's longest serving prisoner is 'slowly dying' under new 'barbaric' regime
Nicknamed Hannibal the Cannibal due to his crimes, Robert Maudsley is struggling after being moved to a new prison as he is 'especially vulnerable' to infection. A new "barbaric" jail regime is slowly killing Britain's longest serving prisoner, according to his new love. Robert Maudsley, 71, suffered Covid during the pandemic and has been left especially vulnerable to infection as a result of his extraordinary time in solitary confinement. For 47 years, a quadruple killer, nicknamed 'Hannibal the Cannibal' by fellow prisoners, he has been kept apart from the rest of the prison population. It now equates to more than 17,000 consecutive days alone in his cell. But he was moved from Wakefield jail, known as Monster Mansion, in April after a row over the 'privileges' there, reports the Mirror. He had been on hunger strike, refusing food over several weeks, though he has started eating again. He was taken to Whitemoor jail, Cambridgeshire, where he is being held on a specialist wing. His brothers Paul and Kevin have found it hard to visit him from their native Merseyside. He found love with Loveinia Grace Mackenney, 69, who writes to him regularly. Loveinia said: "He had Covid 19 twice and almost died. "This new regime is slowly killing him. I believe they knew that was a risk when they moved him. He is totally different now, he cannot write the way he did before because he thinks his letters are being checked, he has not had his TV or radio, it is barbaric." Loveinia is concerned that the hunger strike and new regime are combining to slowly kill Maudsley. In his letters to her, he told of his miserable childhood, taken into care due to neglect and beatings at home. He was first locked up for manslaughter when he was 21 in 1974. On July 28, 1978, already serving life, Maudsley killed two fellow prisoners in Wakefield jail. He was said to have told a prison guard: 'There'll be two short on the roll call.' He had already killed a fellow patient in Broadmoor secure hospital, in 1974. The victim was found with a plastic spoon blade in his ear, which led to Maudsley's nicknames, first 'Spoons', then Hannibal the Cannibal, amid claims that he had eaten his brain. Special provision was made for him inside Wakefield, and his cell was compared to one used to house Dr Hannibal Lecter, played by Anthony Hopkins, in his Oscar winning role in the 1991 film 'Silence of the Lambs'. The Prison Service declined to comment on individual prisoners. However, a source stressed that no prisoners are kept in solitary confinement in the UK penal system. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community!
Daily Mirror
21-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Britain's longest serving prisoner kept in glass box is 'slowly dying'
Nicknamed Hannibal the Cannibal due to his crimes, Robert Maudsley is struggling after being moved to a new prison as he is 'especially vulnerable' to infection A new jail regime is slowly killing Britain's longest serving prisoner, according to his new love. Robert Maudsley is about to turn 72 and twice suffered Covid during the pandemic. He has been left especially vulnerable to infection as a result of his extraordinary time in solitary confinement. A quadruple killer, nicknamed 'Hannibal the Cannibal' by fellow prisoners, he has been kept apart from the rest of the prison population for 47 years. It now equates to more than 17,000 consecutive days alone in his cell. But he was moved from Wakefield jail, known as Monster Mansion, in April after a row over the 'privileges' there. He had been on hunger strike, refusing food over several weeks, though he has started eating again. He was taken to Whitemoor jail, Cambridgeshire, where he is being held on a specialist wing. His brothers Paul and Kevin have found it hard to visit him from their native Merseyside. The Mirror told how he found love with Loveinia Grace Mackenney, 69, who writes to him regularly. Londoner Loveinia told us: "He had Covid 19 twice and almost died. "This new regime is slowly killing him. I believe they knew that was a risk when they moved him. He is totally different now, he cannot write the way he did before because he thinks his letters are being checked, he has not had his TV or radio, it is barbaric." Loveinia is concerned that the hunger strike and new regime are combining to slowly kill Maudsley. In his letters to her, he told of his miserable childhood, taken into care due to neglect and beatings at home. He was first locked up for manslaughter when he was 21 in 1974. On July 28, 1978, already serving life, Maudsley killed two fellow prisoners in Wakefield jail. He was said to have told a prison guard: 'There'll be two short on the roll call.' He had already killed a fellow patient in Broadmoor secure hospital, in 1974. The victim was found with a plastic spoon blade in his ear, which led to Maudsley's nicknames, first 'Spoons', then Hannibal the Cannibal, amid claims that he had eaten his brain. The post mortem made clear that was not the case. Special provision was made for him inside Wakefield, and his cell was compared to one used to house Dr Hannibal Lecter, played by Anthony Hopkins, in his Oscar winning role in the 1991 film 'Silence of the Lambs'. The Prison Service declined to comment on individual prisoners. But a source stressed that no prisoners are kept in solitary confinement in the UK penal system.
Daily Mail
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
'People see him as a monster but I love him': New girlfriend of evil serial killer 'Hannibal the Cannibal' reveals how she fell for Britain's most dangerous inmate who's been caged for 51 years
The new girlfriend of 'Hannibal the Cannibal' serial killer Robert Maudsley, has revealed how she fell for one of Britain's most dangerous prisoners. Mother-of-one, Loveinia MacKenney, has been in correspondence with Maudsley, 71, for the last five years, as the inmate caged behind a glass cage for several decades. The inmate, who is Britain's longest serving prisoner, was once regarded as Wakefield's most dangerous, and had been kept in a glass cell since 1983 after he went on a killing spree behind bars. From his perspex box in HMP Wakefield, the prisoner has expressed his love for the enamoured 69-year-old, who he described as 'beautiful' and 'thoughtful', in several heartfelt letters. Despite having never met the serial killer in person, Ms MacKenney told The Mirror: 'People see him as a monster, they call him Hannibal the Cannibal. I know that he is far from that.' Divulging how she knows 'caring' nature, she explained it is illustrated through his 'loving' letters and the ways in which he has written to here over the years. He sent one Christmas card with the words 'Someone Special' inscribed on the front, whilst writing inside: ' As my sweet girlfriend, you have been there for me.' Elaborating how he hoped to see his nearest and dearest during the festive holidays, he added:'I truly hope you can find someone to love you, in a physical sense, as I long to do for you,' whilst thanking her for giving him so many 'beautiful' dreams. Ms MacKenney, who is a carer for her disabled 46-year-old son, Thomas, revealed to the publication she felt tied to the serial killer after watching a documentary about him titled: 'A Killer in the family'. The show told of Maudsley's traumatic childhood, and the abuse he suffered whilst in care after being separated from his family in Liverpool. His girlfriend revealed she could have ended up in a similar position to the 71-year-old who she refers to as 'Bob', due to her lived own experiences. She described his life in jail as 'torture', due to the dangerous prisoners also living behind bars alongside him. She said: 'I feel his pain, I cannot put it into words. He has been victimised yet he has never lost his moral compass.' Adding how he is steadfast in his beliefs, she added: 'It is love and that is what he needs desperately, and it is unconditional love that we share.' It comes after, Mausdley, who has spent an incredible 46 years in solitary confinement, was refusing to eat until his prized belongings – including books, a music system, and his beloved gaming console – were returned to him. An 'operational exercise' carried out at Wakefield on February 26, saw inmates removed from their cells for thorough searches, and as such several possessions were stripped from Maudsley, This included his PlayStation, books and music system, which he claims are essential for his mental well-being. After their removal he went on hunger strike, but he has since been moved 125 miles down south to 'Monster Mansion', also known as HMP Whitemoor in March, Cambridgeshire. The quardruple killer has been placed on an F wing, specifically built for prisoners with personality disorders, in what his friend describes as a 'disaster waiting to happen'. Now friends of the serial killer claim he is being 'persecuted' without reason, as they believe he has been 'targeted', having had his TV as well as his radio stripped away. Ms MacKenney previously revealed Maudsley had been placed on a wing with 70 other prisoners, dubbing it a 'disaster waiting to happen'. 'It is a disaster waiting to happen. He does not want to be alongside other men because of the abuse he suffered as a child,' she told The Mirror. 'You can tell from his letter to me what a terrible state he is in, his handwriting is shaky. 'He no longer has his TV, he has no radio. He was a model prisoner on his own, but I think they have targeted him.' It is understood there is no evidence to suggest Maudsley is without TV or radio. It is also understood the MoJ do not comment on individual prisoners. It comes after his brother, Paul, revealed the family were concerned about the 71-year-old during his hunger strike. 'He's been left with nothing,' Paul said. 'It's like he's back to how he was ten years ago when he had nothing to stimulate him. 'It's dangerous. He's just been sitting there, doing nothing, and he could go mad again. His TV, books, and games – they keep him sane. It's not fair to take them away without any explanation. We can't get through to anyone, and we're deeply concerned.' His brother also revealed despite Maudsley's violent past, his sibling appears to have little interest in being moved from his solitary confinement. 'Bob wouldn't want to leave. He prefers being on his own. He just likes the solitude. He's used to it now,' he said. Maudsley's lengthy confinement and notorious status have made him one of Britain's most infamous criminals. His 18ft by 15ft glass cell was his only world, where he was previously kept isolated for 23 hours a day. The infamous killer was originally incarcerated in 1974 for the murder of child abuser John Farrell, 30, but during his time in prison, he went on to kill three other men he believed were paedophiles and rapists, leading to his current solitary confinement. His chilling nickname, 'Hannibal the Cannibal,' stemmed from false reports claiming he ate one of his victims' brains, a story that has remained part of his twisted legend. In truth, Maudsley has never eaten human flesh, but the nickname stuck, cementing his place in British criminal history. A once-promising youth from Toxteth, Liverpool, Maudsley's life descended into violence after years of physical and sexual abuse in care homes and at home. After committing his first murder at the age of 21, Maudsley was sent to Broadmoor Hospital for the criminally insane. It was there, in 1977, that he began his killing spree, murdering fellow inmates he believed to be paedophiles. Maudsley's actions and his continued confinement have drawn both condemnation and sympathy over the years. While his brutal murders were undeniably horrific, some have questioned whether his current treatment is humane. Neil Samworth, a veteran prison officer, told MailOnline: 'I think it's wrong the way he's been treated. He's in total isolation, and it's not fair. He represents no real danger now – he's an old man. He should be allowed to live out his days in a more humane manner.' However, Maudsley remains unrepentant, his brother Kevin revealing Robert has always viewed his victims as deserving of their fates. 'He won't apologise for what he did. He believes they were all paedophiles, so in his mind, he was justified,' Kevin explained.
