A prison housing high-risk prisoners has been criticised by the ombudsman, after a prolific paedophile was murdered by another inmate. 

Richard Huckle, 33, was convicted of 71 counts of serious sexual assault against children, committed in Malaysia whilst he posed as a Christian teacher and freelance photographer. 

In 2016, Huckle was given 22 life sentences for his crimes, after an international sting operation linked him to a child sex abuse ring on the dark web. 

But Huckle would only serve three of these before being killed by another prisoner, Paul Fitzgerald, in a 78 minute long attack. 

Now, the prison ombudsman has published a report which finds that Huckle's death could have been avoided, if intelligence on his killer's cannibalistic fantasies had been acted upon. 

The Prisons and Probations Ombudsman (PPO) has criticised the HMP Full Sutton, near York, for issues relating to analysis of intelligence reports, the frequency of unit patrols, and family liaison. 

Four separate intelligence reports were made about killer Fitzgerald's violent tendencies were made in the ten days before his fatal attack on Huckle. 

One report, filed on October 3, 2019, detailed Fitzgerald's violent fantasies, including rape, cannibalism, and torture.

But despite targets that intelligence submitted by the security team should be analysed in 24 hours, and recommended action be taken within a week, Fitzgerald was able to attack Huckle ten days later. 

On October 13, 2019, Fitzgerald got into Huckle's cell, tie him up, rape him, and carry out a brutal attack with makeshift weapons before strangling him with an electrical cord. 

On the morning of his "sustained attack", CCTV footage shows only one member of staff spending time on the corridor. 

Most read:

Get the latest news, sports, and entertainment delivered straight to your device by subscribing to The Northern Echo here. 

In their report, the ombudsman wrote: "The Governor should ensure that officers undertake frequent patrols during association periods and are alert for signs of violence.

"We appreciate that wing staff are busy, but it is hard to understand how they might identify illicit behaviour if they spend little time patrolling and interacting with prisoners.

"While more frequent patrolling would not necessarily have identified the assault, this is particularly important on a wing that holds prisoners who have been identified as a risk of perpetrating violence."