Watchdog chairwoman sent sexual videos to killer

The chairwoman of a prison watchdog board had inappropriate relationships with inmates and smuggled drugs into jail while comparing herself to Deliveroo, a court has heard.

Helen Spree, 63, led the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP Liverpool, a body intended to scrutinise prisoners' conditions to ensure they meet legal standards.

Spree, said to have had a "successful career" as a sales director for a global firm, engaged in sexually explicit chats with three serious criminals, including a man who shot a teenager dead in 2017.

She pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to misconduct in a public office, conspiracy to supply cannabis and conspiracy to convey prohibited items into prison.

As part of her role, Spree was allowed to go anywhere on the prison estate without an escort and carry her own set of keys.

The mother-of-two, from Roby on Merseyside, committed the offences, which included smuggling cannabis, mobile phones and other banned items, over a 20-month period up until her arrest in August 2021.

The court heard Spree sent photographs and videos to Dylan Westall, 35, who was convicted of manslaughter over the death of 17-year-old James Meadows, shot in the head as he rode as a pillion passenger on a motorbike in Huyton.

Police also found two pillow covers at Spree's home embossed with a picture of the face of Westall, who is serving a life sentence with a minimum of 22 years behind bars.

She also had inappropriate relationships with 44-year-old Thomas Porterfield, serving a 13-year sentence for conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life, and another man who cannot be identified for legal reasons.

When Spree's mobile phone was seized, police found she had exchanged images and videos of a sexual nature with all three men.

Details of requests for cannabis and contraband from the prisoners were also uncovered in her phone messages.

Andrew Scott, prosecuting, said: "So frequent were the deliveries that Ms Spree described herself as the prison version of Deliveroo."

Arthur Gibson, mitigating, said Spree's career achievements were "a veneer which was hiding a personal life of abuse and trauma".

He said: "By 2017, she had become seriously damaged mentally by her dealings with men and towards them had very low self-esteem.

"When it came to being flattered and treated as a confidante, she was easily susceptible to making what were seriously wrong judgments.

"Much of what she said in messages was bravado in order to attract more flattery and praise.

"This was not criminality borne out of financial inducement. It was borne out of a situation she found herself [in]."

He said the discovery of the cushions at her house was something "one would expect with a teenager's first love" and showed how much she had become "emotionally involved".

Gibson told Judge Neil Flewitt KC: "The reality in this case is this was an aberration. Your honour can be confident that she will never become involved in criminal activity again."

Sentence will be passed on Spree and four co-defendants on Tuesday.

Dylan Westall and Porterfield also pleaded guilty at earlier hearings to conspiracy to supply cannabis and convey prohibited items into prison.

The third inmate, who cannot be named, admitted conspiracy to convey prohibited items into prison.

Dylan Westall's younger brother, Michael Westall, 28, will also be sentenced for conspiracy to supply cannabis and convey prohibited items into prison.

He became part of the smuggling operation when Dylan Westall introduced him to Spree, with evidence of the two meeting outside prison.

Additional reporting by the Press Association.

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