Robert Maudsley has spent most of his life contained in the underbelly of the notorious HMP Wakefield but recently he was moved to a prison 125 miles away – and his worried uncle has now spoken
The nephew of serial killer Robert Maudsley has said his uncle is “not in a great place” after being removed from HMP Wakefield in Yorkshire – also known as ‘Monster Mansion’.
Maudsley, who is Britain’s longest serving prisoner, is now 125 miles away after being relocated to Whitemoor prison in Cambridgeshire on April 8. Gavin, who has a close bond with his uncle, said he spent 40 years unbroken inside Wakefield, and has not reacted well to the sudden change.
Speaking to Behind Bars TV, he said: “In Whitemoor, to the best of our knowledge, he hasn’t got his stuff. His regime is an hour out of his cell each day, and that is not an hour in the yard, within this hour you have to get your shower and all that. Any time you take a shower, that comes off your yard time.”
He added: “He is not in a great place right now. I am still trying to confirm and verify if he has a TV or if he has his books and stuff – but I can’t imagine how it will be for him if he hasn’t.”
Gavin, who is from Merseyside, last saw his uncle weeks before he was transferred and he has said him and his father are “dying to get down to see him”.
Maudsley was once considered to be the most dangerous inmate in Britain having slaughtered two prisoners inside Wakefield. This was after having already tortured a patient to death inside Broadmoor after he was first caged for killing builder John Farrell in 1974 when he was 21.
He was even given the nickname Hannibal the Cannibal after being rumoured to have eaten the brains of one victim. Despite this being disproved, the nickname stuck.
But, referencing the horrific child abuse Maudsley, Gavin told reformed ex-prisoner Ricky Killeen: “You will be hard pushed to find someone who can’t empathise with what he has been through. I always say, nobody is born a serial killer, there is certain things to happen in one’s life for it to end up in that place.”
Maudsley was reportedly moved to Whitemoor jail after a disagreement with staff over “privileges” in Wakefield. The row resulted in him going on hunger strike for up to five weeks before he was moved to a specialist wing in Cambridgeshire.
The 71-year-old, who spent most of his life in a solitary cell after executing his own wave of vigilante justice, is now reportedly lodging an appeal about his transfer.
According to Gavin, his uncle found himself in a “relatively comfortable” position in Wakefield. He said he accepted his whole life tariff and has never tried to appeal his sentence.
And giving an insight into prison life, Gavin said: “Most of them (prison guards) respected him and would play chess with him, they would have conversations with him, and eventually he found himself in a position where he had a TV in his cell.
“He had a PlayStation in his cell, he had his music system, his CDs, he had his books, he would get an hour in the gym, he would get an hour in the yard, and he would get an hour in the kitchen.
“And for him, he said, ‘All I ever wanted was my own space, Gavin, I’ve got it now.’ Unfortunately it is in the underbelly of Wakefield, but he has got his own space.”
Gavin added: “He had a phone in his cell in Wakefield, he doesn’t now in Whitemoor. He had a phone and he could phone family and stuff like that.
“He had his canteen money, he was only ever on basic because he wouldn’t go into psychology programs. He was only on basic but he had what he needed. He was comfortable.”
Gavin expressed concern for his uncle’s mental state and claimed that he has been told that a return to Wakefield would be a “difficult” task.
The Prison Service declined to comment on individual prisoners.
However, a source told us that prisoners in Whitemoor prison receive at least one hour out of their cell per day. They also stressed that Maudsley has access to the exercise yard and that he does have his belongings along with a telephone in his cell.
You can watch Gavin’s interview in full on Behind Bars TV here.