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A triple killer won £800 compensation after items including his nose hair clippers were damaged in prison.



Kevan Thakrar, 26, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, who is serving three life sentences for killing drug dealers, also lost his cranberry juice.

District Judge Neil Hickman said there had been a "cavalier disregard for Mr Thakrar's rights and his property".

The POA union, which represents prison workers, said it was "in despair" at the "ridiculous award".

Thakrar was jailed after he and his brother killed Keith Cowell, 52, his son Matthew, 17, and Tony Dulieu, 33, from Essex, at the Cowells' house in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, in 2007. They were also sentenced for two attempted murders.

In March 2010, Thakrar maimed three guards at Frankland Prison in County Durham after stabbing them with a broken bottle, but was cleared of two counts of attempted murder and three of wounding with intent.

Following the attack, Thakrar was moved from Frankland to Woodhill Prison in Milton Keynes and it was during this move that some of his possessions went missing.

According to the court judgment, detailed on Thakrar's Facebook page set up by campaigners protesting his innocence, he was awarded £224.97 for damage to his stereo, alarm clock and nasal clippers.

He was also awarded £90 after items including a carton of cranberry juice, protein powder and toiletries were lost, which he claimed left him "stressed".

Judge Hickman awarded him a further £500 to compensate him for lost photographs and personal items, making £814.97 in total.

The prison ombudsman had originally offered Thakrar £10 in compensation, but he took the case to court last year and Judge Hickman ruled that he deserved a further payout.

The prison officer attacked by a triple killer awarded £800 for his lost nasal hair clippers has spoken of his fury that the criminal was awarded money but his 'life was taken away'. Former officer Craig Wylde was attacked by prisoner Kevan Thakrar with a broken chilli sauce bottle, leaving the 32-year-old with deep cuts that reached the bones of his arm and chest and causing him to lose eight pints of blood.

Mr Wylde, who is still waiting to receive compensation for the vicious assault at Frankland Prison in Durham in 2010, says he struggles to sleep, can not work and is sometimes unable to get out of bed. Mr Wylde said he fears the case could have knock-on effects in prisons around the country. 'Prisoners work off each other. Of the 80,000 prisoners in this country at least a third will think Thakrar got away with it and so can I, ' he said.

'There are some good prisoners who keep their heads down and serve their time don't get me wrong. 'I am campaigning for more protective kit to be available for prison staff and they tell me there isn't enough money due to the cuts. 'Then this three-time murderer complains about a nose clipper and gets paid £800. It is ridiculous.
'I haven't received a penny. But there is no amount of money that will compensate me for what I and my family have gone through. 'It won't make me feel any better any way.'

Gob wrote:The sums seem a triffle disproportionate.

Gob wrote:Sorry, that's my editing, I chopped out a lot of repeated [relevant] information.

Thakrar was jailed after he and his brother killed Keith Cowell, 52, his son Matthew, 17, and Tony Dulieu, 33, from Essex, at the Cowells' house in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, in 2007. They were also sentenced for two attempted murders.

Chris Grayling last night ordered an urgent review into ‘ridiculous’ compensation claims by prisoners.

The Justice Secretary commissioned the inquiry amid fury over pay-outs to a triple murderer, Kevan Thakrar, for lost or damaged property including a set of nose hair clippers and long life milk.

Civil servants will examine whether government is doing enough to fight claims in court - and if more can be done to block unmerited taxpayer-funded payments.

It will also look at ensuring money is taken from prisoners who win their compensation cases to pay for any debts owed in court fines or victims.
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A source said: ‘We want to send a very strong message that we’re on the side of victims, and that they’re the priority when it comes to offenders making financial recompense for their crimes.

‘There might be times when something goes wrong, and prisoners end up with compensation.

‘But we’re making sure that those times are few and far between, and that taxpayers’ money isn’t being spent on prisoners trying to take the mickey out of the system.’

Every year around £3million in compensation payments are handed to inmates - for being held a day or two over the end of their sentence, for slips or falls in prison and attacks by other inmates.

The review is expected to take weeks and will consider whether victims’ interests are being given enough priority.

It will also examine if money can be diverted from compensation claims to fines owed to the courts or victims’ compensation.

Guinevere wrote:

Gob wrote:Sorry, that's my editing, I chopped out a lot of repeated [relevant] information.

Channeling the Daily Mail?