A former British army soldier on trial for escaping from HMP Wandsworth has testified that he did so without permission to ensure that he would be relocated to the High Security Unit at Belmarsh Prison. Speaking on his third day in court, he informed a jury that he had been trying to get himself upgraded to Double Category A High Risk. He explained that although he did not wish to associate with sex offenders, he did not want to be placed on a normal Wing, where he might be attacked for being a soldier.
Reportedly, when he arrived at Wandsworth Prison, he was placed on the Vulnerable Prison Unit. However, he described that “95%” of prisoners there were serious sex offenders such as “rapists, paedophiles, that sort of thing”. In order to protect himself, he explained that he got a job in the stores of the kitchen with the help of a prisoner on his wing who was, in his words, “quite a prolific sex offender” and who he said had wanted him to work with him. He added that the prisoner was attempting to “do me a favour”.
According to the former soldier, prison officers had also warned him that he was at risk. He said that they had warned him that there were terrorist offenders in the prison who were after him. As a result, he felt that the safest place for him would be in the High Security Unit at Belmarsh prison. He testified that on August 21st, 2023, he pretended to be attempting to escape, acting suspiciously next to a food delivery lorry, expecting to have his risk category upgraded as a result; however, nothing changed.
On September 1st, 2023, he attached a sling made of trousers and carabiners under the lorry near the tail lift. On September 6th, he climbed under the lorry, so when the tail lift was raised, it completely covered him. When the Bidfood lorry got to the prison gate, officers checked using torches but did not find him although there was some action around the lorry. He then described climbing out from under the lorry close to Wandsworth roundabout. He accepted that he left without any permission to do so.
The former soldier denied gathering information useful to an enemy, collecting a list of Special Forces soldiers that would be useful for terrorism, perpetrating a bomb hoax, and escaping from prison. He also informed the jury that the fake bomb he left on the desk of his barracks when he absconded from there in January 2022 was not generated to frighten anyone. He testified that he was trying to get his story reported in the media to increase his credibility with his Iranian intelligence handlers, whom he said he had given entirely fictitious information.
The trial of the former soldier and his evidence are still ongoing
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