Two inmates broke out of Pentonville Prison

A MAJOR search for weapons, drugs and other contraband is underway at Pentonville Prison after two inmates escaped in the early hours of Monday.

A prison source told the Tribune that 40 specialist staff from high-security prisons around the country have been brought in to assist with the search, which will take up to five days.

The prison is in complete lockdown virtually all day, while guards sweep every cell, workshop, communal area and landing.

One of the men, Matthew Baker, a 28-year-old convicted of attempted murder, was captured at an address in Ilford, east London, on Wednesday night. A 21-year-old woman and a 33-year-old man were also arrested.

James Whitlock, 31, is still on the run. He was on remand, having being charged with 19 offences of theft from cash machines in the South-east between December 2015 and August 2016.

Detective Chief Insp­ector Steve Heatley said: “Anyone helping is potentially committing a crime. I would encourage them to contact us so we can bring this matter to a safe and swift conclusion.”

The men were on the fifth landing of the prison’s G-wing, a general wing where inmate Jamal Mahmoud, 21, was killed three weeks ago.

“They had access to a lot of bed sheets,” the source told the Tribune. “They used pillows as mannequins to make it look like they were in bed. They had access to some type of cutting equipment, a circular-type saw. They cut through the bars and used bed sheets to climb onto a flat roof and [escape] over the [perimeter] wall.”

Questions remain as to why the prison-wide search was not launched after the killing.

In an indication of how unsafe the prison is at present, there have been six “slashings” of inmates since the killing, the source told the Tribune.

“The search should have happened after the murder but it didn’t happen, probably because they [management] don’t want to disrupt the regime,” the source said. “If it had happened before they might have found the escape equipment. It is a big if but there’s a possibility this stuff was already in there.”

One former prisoner, Michael, who was visiting the prison on Monday, told the Tribune: “How could they have escaped? You’re locked up for twenty-two-and-a-half hours a day. But anything’s possible in there. What were the screws [prison guards] doing?”

Residents in Wheelwright Street, who have long-standing complaints about lax security and drones flying in drugs and mobile phones, were less surprised.

Prison staff have passed a vote of no confidence in prison governor Kevin Reilly, saying they were unable to prevent contraband being thrown over the walls while also monitoring inmates.

Islington South and Finsbury MP Emily Thornberry has called for the Victorian prison to be shut down, calling it “completely inappropriate for modern needs”. A report from the prison’s own Independent Monitoring Board said the institution was “unfit for the 21st century”.

The last prisoner to escape from the jail, which has a capacity of 900 but holds 1,300 men, was John Massey in 2012. He escaped from a gym window and was found two days later.

Dave Todd, of the Prison Officers’ Association, said: “The issue is recruitment and retention of staff. If you don’t get paid very well and feel unsafe in your job you’re going to find alternative employment.

“There’s a toxic mix of things within the justice system. It’s really difficult for officers to do the job when the government has taken out £900million in the last three years.”

On Tuesday, the Met charged a second man with the murder of Mr Mahmoud. Robert Butler, 30, was remanded in custody.

Basana Kimbembi, 34, charged with murder earlier, is due to appear before the Old Bailey via video link on January 23 for a plea hearing.

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said earlier this week: “We announc­ed a major overhaul of the prison system last week, including 2,500 extra frontline officers.

“These extra officers and new safety measures will help us crack down on the toxic cocktail of drugs, drones and mobile phones flooding our prisons.”