10 April 2023 , 10:45
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Prisoners at "Monster Mansion" where killers including Ian Huntley, Levi Bellfield and Wayne Couzens are housed are getting phones installed in their cells, it has been reported.
Inmates at HMP Frankland are said to be "excited" over the possibility of making and receiving calls from their cell.
It is understood workmen have spent months installing the phone so prisoners don't have to queue.
However, some have called it a "terrible" idea and say the scheme could be "abused".
Former Scotland Yard detective Peter Bleksley said giving a phone to a prison who is serving a short sentence and plans to rebuild life afterwards "is not a bad idea".
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Levi Bellfield is currently serving two whole life orders for murdering Marsha McDonnell, Amelie Delagrange and Milly Dowler (PA)
Ian Huntley is also serving time at HMP Frankland (PA)He added: "The idea that monsters like Huntley and Bellfield are getting phones in their cells is outrageous. I can see it being abused."
A source told The Sun: “The prisoners are really excited. It seems like a massive project with loads of workmen on site. They seem to be spending a lot of money on what could be seen as a luxury.”
Tory MP James Daley, who sits on the Home Affairs select committee, said: “This is appalling. Victims of crime and taxpayers whose hard-earned money is being used to pay for these luxuries will be sickened.”
Prisoners at Frankland include Soham child murderer Huntley, serial killer Bellfield and killer-rapist cop Couzens.
Other notorious inmates include Lee Rigby’s killer Michael Adebolajo, nail bomber David Copeland and Sally Anne Bowman’s murderer Mark Dixie.
HMP Frankland Prison in Co Durham (BBC)They are all housed in single cells that include a TV, washbasin and toilet facilities.
Prisoners are rewarded for their good behaviour with game consoles and DVD players.
A Prison Service spokesman told the Mirror that "phone use in prisons is subject to strict time limits, risk assessments and monitoring".
HMP Frankland in County Durham opened in 1983.
It has been dubbed "Monster Mansion" due to many of its inmates being convicted murderers, high-risk sex offenders and those convicted of terrorism-related offences.
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The prison only holds male prisoners who are over 21 years of age, and whose sentence is usually four years or more, as well as life sentences and high-risk remand prisoners.