Two prison officer ‘have an affair before holding a jail baby shower’

Two senior prison officers allegedly had an affair before one of them held a jail baby shower for the lovechild, the Mail can reveal.

The pair held management roles at HMP Downview in Surrey when they embarked on a sexual relationship while the male officer was married, it is claimed.

Shocked inspectors at the women’s prison heard what was happening and told the jail’s governor, Amy Dixon, over fears there could be a risk of blackmail.

While criticising their conduct, the Mail understands Ms Dixon allowed a baby shower to be held on prison grounds.

The female officer went on to bring the child to a Family Day for staff and inmates.

The man transferred to another prison and now has a senior role. He is also a member of a group that is tasked with setting policy across the female prison estate. 

The Prison Service said an ‘internal review’ had found ‘no breaches of conduct, no corruption concerns, and no grounds for disciplinary action’.

Former governor Professor Ian Acheson warned inappropriate relationships between prison staff left them ‘wide open to potential manipulation’.

‘Junior staff are hung out to dry for inappropriate relationships at work – the same rules must apply to senior staff,’ he said. 

‘The state has no business in people’s bedrooms but when that behaviour spreads into our jails it must be dealt with swiftly and severely.’ 

The alleged relationship was common knowledge among staff and inmates at Downview, and the pair were seen behaving flirtatiously in each other’s company.

Both officers held the rank of governor, which is used by managers who report to a single ‘governing governor’. 

Ms Dixon has been in charge at Downview since 2022 after spells at several other prisons. 

The Mail put the affair allegations to Downview’s Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) after being contacted by a whistleblower.

A spokesperson replied: ‘We are aware of the allegations. Members of our Board received various reports from staff and prisoners about the incidents mentioned.

‘We escalated the Board’s concerns to Governor Dixon on a number of occasions, both in a Board setting and in one-to-one meetings. She appeared highly frustrated about our monitoring of the issue.

‘Our particular concern we expressed was that there was a corruption risk: the male governor was married, we were told, and some of the couple’s intimate behaviour was visible to other prisoners (for example, in the staff mess where prisoners worked).

‘We also had concerns about the environment which the relationship was creating for female prisoners. Prisoners complain a lot (often justifiably) about arbitrary behaviours and expectations from staff, and the lack of procedural justice in a prison setting.

‘Prisoners at HMP Downview are also subject to a ”healthy relationships policy” themselves.

‘It’s clearly difficult for them when they see staff behaving in a way that sends out a conflicting message about behaviours expected of prisoners and can impact on positive relationships with staff generally.’

The Downview IMB said it had passed the claims to HMPPS’ national and regional Counter-Corruption Unit.

The spokesperson added that the IMB had been ‘surprised to receive a response from the regional team saying that they would not need to interview members of the Board who had relevant information, or to take any further details from us.’

A Prison Service spokesman said: ‘An internal review concluded there were no breaches of conduct here or corruption concerns.’

There have been numerous scandals about inappropriate relationships within UK jails in previous years, most of them involving guards becoming intimate with prisoners.

Downview saw its own scandal in 2011, when acting governor Russell Thorne received a five-year prison sentence for having an affair with a female prisoner.

Thorne, then 41, was convicted at Guildford Crown Court of misconduct in a public office between 2006 and 2010.

The inmate – who was not named in court proceedings – described how she made Thorne ‘pay’ for his infidelities in cash or with gifts picked from an Argos catalogue.

Concerns have been raised more recently about failings at Downview, including a major security breach in October that saw a bungling employee walk an inmate out of the gates.

As the Mail previously revealed, the male kitchen worker wanted to leave the jail to pick up tomatoes from nearby HMP Highdown – and took the extraordinary decision to take a prisoner with him to help.

The member of staff was able to walk with the inmate out of the gate past security staff, who ‘didn’t bat an eyelid’, before guards arriving for their shift saw what was happening and raised the alarm.

The prison went into full lockdown, and all the governors were summoned. The inmate was put into segregation before being transferred to another prison.

Downview’s latest IMB inspection raised several concerns, including the ‘alarmingly’ low number of inmates being temporarily released to carry out work with potential future employers.

Prison minister James Timpson has repeatedly described the provision of work programmes for inmates as a priority for the government.

The IMB also raised concerns about the number of acutely mentally unwell women being held at Downview.

Inspectors found there has been a 90 per cent increase in the number of inmates facing extended delays during transfers to secure psychiatric settings over the last two years.

Downview is Britain’s only prison with a dedicated wing for transgender women with a history of violent or sexual offender.