A prison watchdog boss embroiled herself in illicit relationships with three inmates and even kept cushions at home emblazoned with the face of a convicted killer, a court heard. Helen Spree, 63, smuggled drugs and mobile phones into HMP Liverpool while running the jail’s Independent Monitoring Board (IMB), giving her free rein to wander the wings unchecked, the Mirror reports.
The mother-of-two, who bragged she was “the prison version of Deliveroo”, carried out the smuggling operation for nearly two years before her arrest. The court heard she had once enjoyed a successful career as a sales director before volunteering as an IMB member. She would go on to be appointed chairwoman of HMP Liverpool’s IMB, gaining unaccompanied access to the entire prison with her own set of keys.
Sexually explicit exchanges
With this power, Spree engaged in sexually explicit chat with three inmates: Dylan Westall, 35, serving a minimum life sentence of 22 years for manslaughter; Thomas Porterfield, 44, jailed for 13 years for conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life; and another man who cannot be identified for legal reasons, prosecutor Andrew Scott told her trial.
Her phone contained sexually-charged exchanges, featuring images and videos, with the three men, it was revealed after detectives seized the mobile. Spree also had an image of Dylan Westall's face embossed on the front of two pillow cushion covers in her home. Westall was jailed in 2019 over the killing of James Meadows, 17, who was shot in the head while on a motorbike in Huyton, Merseyside.
Smuggling operation
Messages recovered from her device also showed requests made by the inmates for Spree to supply them with cannabis and contraband, which led to her describing herself as the "prison version of Deliveroo", Mr Scott said. Spree, of Roby, Merseyside, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to misconduct in a public office, conspiracy to supply cannabis and conspiracy to convey prohibited items into prison.
Defence arguments
Arthur Gibson, defending, said Spree’s career achievements were “a veneer which was hiding a personal life of abuse and trauma”. “By 2017 she had become seriously damaged mentally by her dealings with men and towards them had very low self-esteem,” he explained. “When it came to being flattered and treated as a confidante, she was easily susceptible to making what were seriously wrong judgments.”
“Much of what she said in messages was bravado in order to attract more flattery and praise. This was not criminality borne out of financial inducement. It was borne out of a situation she found herself (in).” He said the discovery of the cushions at her house was something “one would expect with a teenager’s first love” and showed how much she had become “emotionally involved”.
Mr Gibson told Judge Neil Flewitt KC: “The reality in this case is this was an aberration. Your honour can be confident that she will never become involved in criminal activity again.” Sentence will be passed on Spree and four co-defendants on Tuesday. Dylan Westall and Porterfield also pleaded guilty at earlier hearings to conspiracy to supply cannabis and convey prohibited items into prison. The third inmate, who cannot be named, admitted conspiracy to convey prohibited items into prison. Dylan Westall’s younger brother, Michael Westall, 28, will also be sentenced for conspiracy to supply cannabis and convey prohibited items into prison. He became part of the smuggling operation when Dylan Westall introduced him to Spree, with evidence of the two meeting up outside prison.
