A prisoner has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a convicted killer at a high-security prison.
John Mansfield, who was jailed for life in 2007 for the murder of his 63-year-old neighbour, was found dead at HMP Whitemoor near March, Cambridgeshire, on Sunday.
A 44-year-old serving prisoner has been arrested on suspicion of murdering Mansfield, 63, at the jail.
Mansfield, then aged 45, was sentenced in 2007 at Manchester crown court to life in prison with a minimum term of 30 years for the murder of Ann Alfanso. In August 2006, she was found dead with 20 stab wounds in the head and neck at her home in Whalley Range, Manchester, by her carer, who supported her with her reduced mobility.
In 2014, Mansfield was handed a second life term after stabbing another prisoner with a broken plate at HMP Full Sutton, near York.
A Cambridgeshire police spokesperson said officers were called at about 4.10pm on Sunday “following the discovery of the body of a man in his 60s at HMP Whitemoor near March”, and confirmed that the arrested man was a serving prisoner.
They said: “A 44-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder. An investigation is ongoing.”
A Prison Service spokesperson said: “Police are investigating the death of prisoner John Mansfield at HMP Whitemoor on Sunday 13 April. It would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
The prison and probation ombudsman is required to launch an investigation into the incident.
This is the second security breach to take place in UK prisons within a week. On 12 April, the Manchester bomb plotter Hashem Abedi is alleged to have attacked three prison officers at HMP Frankland in County Durham. The officers suffered life-threatening injuries after they were attacked with hot oil and homemade weapons, according to the trade union covering prison staff.
The Ministry of Justice has said it would carry out a review into how the incident was allowed to happen.
Mark Fairhurst, the chair of the Prison Officers’ Association, said the incident highlighted the dangerous realities of being a prison officer and argued that more investment was needed from the Treasury in order to improve working conditions.
He said: “We deal with exactly the same incidents as police officers, exactly the same violence, the same hostilities, yet we don’t have the same protections. We don’t even have stab-proof vests.”
