An ex-prison officer said other paedophiles jailed at HMP Wakefield are likely to have a tough time after former Lostprophets star Ian Watkins was stabbed to death in his prison cell
The inmate who killed Ian Watkins will likely be “given bonus points” by other detainees after stabbing the Lostprophets paedophile to death, a former prison officer has said.
The paedophile rock star, who was serving a 29-year sentence for child sex offences, was attacked with a knife by another inmate in HMP Wakefield on Saturday morning, sources confirmed. Emergency services were sent to the prison in West Yorkshire but Watkins was pronounced dead at the scene.
Sources said the prison went into lockdown in the immediate aftermath of the incident. Now, Tony Cottenden, who worked as a prison officer for nine years, told us that on a unit that has a separate landing for paedophiles, there is usually minimal integration with other offenders. He said that those convicted of child sex offences were “not seen kindly from other standard offenders”.
READ MORE: Ian Watkins dead: Prison Service statement in full after Lostprophets paedo stabbed to death
When an offender is high-profile – as Watkins was – it’s likely that anyone who attacks them will “get a lot of bonus points” and gain respect from other inmates in the prison, added the ex-prison guard.
Mr Cottenden told the Mirror: “Obviously paedophiles are not seen kindly from other standard offenders. When someone’s high profile, it’s very common for there to be… you’ll get a lot of bonus points, shall we say, if you manage to attack someone like that from how you stand as an offender in the prison itself.”
An inmate might also get “bonus points” for attacking prisoner if “a vulnerable prisoner had debt to pay, and that was a potential thing to wipe the debt”.
The former guard said similar acts could also be carried out by someone “looking to climb the rankings, but you never really know”. Tony said that if paedophiles were in a unit alongside the rest of the prison population, they were usually escorted by an officer for their safety when moving around.
“If they’re alongside a normal population or if they need to go somewhere, they’re usually taken there by an officer and some prisons have separate movement so usually most offenders move around the prison on something known as free flow,” he said. He added that “on the way to work, these offenders will move at separate times at certain prisons”.
He said that following Watkins’ stabbing, other child offenders at HMP Wakefield will likely face limited freedom of movements and not have “a very pleasant experience” in jail. The former prison worker said that for paedophiles, usually “everything is separate”.
Tony said child sex offenders are “usually just on the landing full of other vulnerable prisoners, whether that be paedophiles or people that are on active documents,” for example those on suicide watch, or people “that can’t cope with the prison environment.” Watkins, 48, was jailed for 29 years in December 2013 with a further six years on licence, after admitting a string of sex offences – including the attempted rape of a fan’s baby.
The disgraced singer was arrested following the execution of a drugs warrant at his Pontypridd home on September 21, 2012 when a large number of computers, mobile phones and storage devices were seized. Analysis of the equipment uncovered Watkins’ depraved behaviour.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: “We are aware of an incident at HMP Wakefield which took place this morning. We are unable to comment further while the police investigate.”
A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said: “At 9.39am this morning, police were called by staff at HMP Wakefield reporting an assault on a prisoner. Emergency services attended and the man was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later.
“Detectives from the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team are investigating and inquiries remain ongoing at the scene.” Watkins was previously taken to hospital after being attacked in 2023. At the time, police said his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening. A source told the Mirror he had been taken hostage by three other inmates.
In 2019, he was jailed for 10 months on top of the sentence he was serving for child sex offences after he was found guilty of possessing a mobile phone in prison. Watkins claimed two inmates forced him to hold on to the phone so they could contact women who sent him fan mail in order to use them as a “revenue stream”.
In his evidence, the defendant refused to name the men, but said: “You would not want to mess with them.” He also said his fellow inmates were “murderers, mass murderers, rapists, paedophiles, serial killers – the worst of the worst.” Judge Rodney Jameson KC said he did not accept Watkins had the phone, which was in his possession for five days, because he had been threatened.
During the five-day trial at Leeds Crown Court, the jury heard Watkins was strip-searched in the jail in March 2018 and then produced a small phone from his body after he became concerned that he would not be able to see his mother who was visiting from Wales. In 2014, Watkins was told he could not appeal against the length of his 29-year jail term.
Lawyers for the paedophile claimed he should have his jail term cut because his last-minute guilty plea spared a jury from having to watch his home-made child pornography. However the Court of Appeal, sitting in Cardiff, turned down his application for leave for an appeal, with presiding judge Lord Justice Pitchford saying: “These were offences against infant children of such shocking depravity that a very lengthy sentence of imprisonment was demanded.
“It is not demonstrated the total sentence of 29 years together with the extended licence period was arguably manifestly excessive. Accordingly, the application in his case is refused.” Among the disturbing videos due to be shown at his trial included his attempted rape of a baby and a webcam chat in which he instructed a crazed fan to abuse her child.
Watkins was given 14- and 15-year consecutive prison terms for engaging in sexual activity with a child and the attempted rape of an 11-month-old baby. He was also convicted of 11 other offences – with those sentences running alongside his 29-year term.