'Missed opportunities' to prevent paedophile's murder

The murder of a paedophile at HMP Full Sutton could have been avoided if reports on his killers' cannibalistic fantasies had been acted upon, a report has found.

Richard Huckle, 33, died after a 78-minute attack by Paul Fitzgerald, 30, in his cell in October 2019.

Huckle, from Ashford, Kent, had been serving 22 life sentences after admitting the sexual abuse of up to 200 Malaysian children aged between six months and 12 years.

The Ministry of Justice said "significant improvements" have been made since the incident to "better spot and tackle those who pose a risk to other prisoners".

The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman said there were "missed opportunities" to identify an increased risk of serious violence leading up to Huckle's death.

In total, four separate security intelligence reports about Fitzgerald were made in the 10 days before he carried out the attack.

On 13 October 2019, Fitzgerald went into Huckle's cell, tied him up, raped him and assaulted him with various weapons before strangling him with an electrical cord.

Fitzgerald, who was jailed for 34 years for Huckle's murder, had spoken to prison staff about his "extremely violent fantasies".

Diagnosed with a personality disorder with psychopathic traits in 2008, Fitzgerald told an officer prior to the attack he had "constant" thoughts of murder, rape, cannibalism and torture.

The ombudsman, Sue McAllister, said all reports should be analysed promptly and appropriate action should be taken when any prisoner indicates they might be considering an act of violence.

Other recommendations of the report included officers taking frequent patrols when prisoners mix together and are on alert for signs of violence.

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