A jailed art expert who claimed a prison warder tried to seduce his wife has lost a claim for damages against the Home Office.

It was alleged that Mary Duddin was repeatedly sexually harassed by the guard as she visited her husband, David, a dealer who was serving ten years at Frankland Jail, Durham, for fencing a stolen Rembrandt.

But at Newcastle County Court yesterday, Judge Walton dismissed the claims, saying: "The claimant wholly failed to establish he was a victim of malice."

Duddin was suing for misfeasance in public office, wrongful exercise of lawful authority, and negligence. He told the court that the officer had been pressurising his wife to have sex with him and that she was terrified.

The married warder appeared before a private disciplinary hearing after complaints from Mrs Duddin. He was found guilty of misconduct following the incident in 1998 but has since died.

The prison apologised to Duddin, 56, then a C-wing prisoner, for the upset caused to his wife of 33 years.

Last year, Mrs Duddin was paid thousands of pounds in compensation, and following his release, her husband sought his own claim for damages.

But Judge Walton said: "I cannot see any basis for claim because there was so much bitterness and resentment from the claimant, against the prison service after being locked up.