Wandsworth prison officers fired for mocking inmate’s death in group chat

Prison officers were caught celebrating an inmate’s death and making jokes about assaulting other prisoners in disturbing WhatsApp messages. A whistleblower from HMP Wandsworth provided The Times with the messages, revealing officers celebrating a prisoner’s death in a group chat of 27 staff members.

The officers exchanged messages after learning the prisoner, awaiting sentencing for drug offences, had “died in custody. Stopped breathing.” This inmate was the 14th to die at HMP Wandsworth, a category B men’s prison, in the last two years.

Officer Kevin O’Farrell referred to the deceased inmate, who was awaiting an autism assessment, as “the f***wit,” while a colleague joked, “Former f***wit.” O’Farrell added, “Splendid if so. Total p****. Good, I hope he suffered.” Armin Naroozi, another prison officer, shared a dancing gif with the caption, “Another one bites the dust.” O’Farrell responded with laughing emojis.

Wandsworth prison officers celebrate the death of 21 year old prisoner and post revolting jokes on social mediahttps://t.co/suHeyWMR3u

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— Frances Crook (@francescrook) October 25, 2024

The officers also made homophobic and misogynistic jokes and quipped about assaulting prisoners, including former tennis star Boris Becker, who began a sentence at HMP Wandsworth in April 2022. The inmate’s mother, who requested anonymity, said she was “totally broken” after learning about the messages.

Her son had pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing class A drugs with intent to supply and was awaiting sentencing. The inmate, in jail for the first time, had informed prison staff about his suspected autism. He also told his family he felt targeted by some prison staff. After his body was found in a cell, a staff member posted on the WhatsApp group “New and improved Trinity!” asking if anyone knew what had happened.

Trinity is a unit of prisoner wings where many of the staff work. Upon learning it was a Death in Custody, O’Farrell confirmed the identity of the deceased and commented he hoped the prisoner had suffered, calling it “good riddance” and describing the inmate as an “utter c***, no loss.”

Naroozi then remarked he might have felt sorry for the prisoner “if he wasn’t such a c***,” to which O’Farrell responded, “Nah.” When another colleague mentioned it “sounds like it was a really tough day on Trinity today,” O’Farrell replied, “Not if that c*** died,” with a laughing emoji.

As a result of these messages, at least two staff members left the WhatsApp group. Following an internal investigation, O’Farrell and Naroozi were dismissed last year for unprofessional conduct after a prison officer reported the group’s contents. No further action was taken after the prison service reported the conduct to police.

The inquest into the inmate’s death is scheduled to be heard in the coming months at Inner West London coroner’s office. Prison officers at Wandsworth also joked about assaulting prisoners, including Becker, who had been sentenced to two-and-a-half years for four charges under the Insolvency Act.

Upon Becker’s arrival, a prison officer wrote in the group chat that the German “looked scared when he came in last night.” O’Farrell replied, “Did you give him a back hander? Would have been ace. Love to have seen that,” adding, “He’ll see some new balls tonight that’s for sure.”

Becker, released in December 2022, was at HMP Wandsworth for a few weeks before being transferred to HMP Huntercombe, a category C prison in Oxfordshire. Group posts also mocked a gay prison officer’s appearance and joked that a gay prisoner particularly enjoyed jail shower time.

There were also misogynistic messages, including a picture of a woman in a see-through top. The leaked messages come amid widespread concern about Britain’s prisons. More than 1,200 convicts who have served 40 per cent of their sentences are being freed today under a scheme to tackle prison overcrowding, following the release of 1,750 inmates last month.

Concerns have been raised about the quality of recent staff hires, with criminals, drug traffickers, and a neo-Nazi reportedly bypassing vetting to secure jobs behind bars. In August, HMP Wandsworth’s Independent Monitoring Board reported a security review identified “81 points of failure,” leading to “long overdue” upgrades to CCTV cameras that had been non-functional for over a year.

The IMB’s annual report for 2023-24 concluded the category B Victorian jail was “not safe,” with nearly 1,000 recorded assaults between prisoners or on staff and harshly criticised living conditions. The board found it “alarmingly easy” for prisoners to obtain contraband, with cell searches uncovering phones, drugs, makeshift weapons, and alcohol, while the smell of cannabis was pervasive.

The shortage of experienced staff, with almost half in their job for less than a year, “undermined attempts to make the prison run effectively,” and staff absence often reached 50 per cent. Previously, the prison was at the centre of a police investigation into a married prison officer filmed having sex with an inmate.

Linda De Sousa Abreu, 30, pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office at Isleworth Crown Court on July 29 and was bailed ahead of her sentencing in November. The encounter in a cell on June 27 was filmed by another prisoner and went viral on social media. De Sousa Abreu, born in Brazil, was identified by HMP Wandsworth staff and arrested by Metropolitan Police at Heathrow Airport while attempting to fly to Madrid.