Prison happy with procedures despite ex-royal aide's escape

By sleek

Security measures at Blantyre House prison near Goudhurst will not be reviewed despite the escape of a former royal aide from its sister prison this week.

Convicted murderer Jane Andrews went on the run from East Sutton Park near Maidstone on Sunday, four days after being transferred from another open prison in Surrey.

The women-only facility was amalgamated with Blantyre House in 2007 and is run by the same governor, Jim Carmichael.

While staff at all-male Blantyre declined to comment on the incident this week, a spokesman for HM Prisons Service confirmed it was not felt procedures at either site needed to be examined as a result.

The spokesman said: "There wasn't a breach of security.

"Prisoners are rigorously risk assessed and categorised as being of low risk to the public before being placed in open conditions.

"For long-term prisoners, these are essential components for successful resettlement and an important factor in protecting the public."

A 42-year-old former aide to the Duchess of York, Andrews was sentenced to a minimum 15 years in jail for killing her boyfriend when he refused to marry her in 2001.

She was recaptured early on Wednesday after police found her in a Maidstone hotel room, and will return to a closed prison.