Burglar stabbed in prison kitchen awarded £5m | UK

A burglar stabbed in a prison kitchen has been ordered by a High Court judge to pay £5 million in damages. Steven Wilson, 36, suffered life-changing injuries after being attacked by another prisoner with a 9-inch knife.

The incident happened while he was carrying out kitchen duties at HMP Chelmsford prison in Essex in July 2018. Mr Wilson then sued the Ministry of Justice, and the department has now admitted liability.

They were ordered to pay Mr Wilson £5,404,559 in damages.

As a result of the attack, Mr Wilson suffered lacerations to his liver and stomach, penetrating wounds to his abdomen and chest wall, and an incomplete spinal cord injury during the attack.

Judge Melissa Clarke said in her ruling: “There is no doubt that Mr Wilson’s life has been radically and permanently affected by the physical and psychiatric/psychological injuries caused by this terrible attack in the prison kitchen.”

Mr Wilson told the trial he felt “very vulnerable in prison” and feared being attacked again.

He was convicted 31 times between 1999 and 2018. He was serving a nine-year sentence for aggravated burglary, which was reduced to six and a half years. Mr Wilson was released from prison in 2021.

The judge said the Justice Department had “very quickly” admitted liability for the incident but disputed aspects of Mr Wilson’s health and the impact of his loss of income.

She said: “Nevertheless, the defendant had deployed him to work in the prison with easy access to knives.” Mr Wilson would “likely require 24-hour support” at the age of 60, Judge Clarke added.