Former prison officer on how long Daniel Gee will spend in prison if caught on the run

A former prison officer believes escaped inmate Daniel Gee can turn his life around but will face more jail time when he is finally caught.

Neil “Sam” Samworth – a former guard at HMP Manchester who counts Gee’s brother Darren among his ex-prisoners – said the escaped man’s status as a prisoner with an intermediate sentence would count against him when he is brought into the followed before the court. Gee, who escaped from Category D Kirklevington Grange open prison on May 27, was jailed indefinitely in 2010 for the protection of the public following his conviction for weapons offences.

With a public protection sentence (PPP) – a prison term introduced in 2005 for serious crimes but abolished in 2012 after public pressure – he had to serve at least four years behind bars before his case could be considered by the commission for parole. The sentence ran concurrently with a seven-and-a-half-year sentence he was serving for drug offences.

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Despite the abolition of the sentence, the change was not made retroactively, meaning that all existing IPP inmates, including Gee, had to abide by the rules of the sentence given to them. Speaking on his podcast Real Porridge with Sam Samworth, the former prison officer said Gee was “infamous in prison property”, with many questioning why the former gang leader was in an open prison.

However, he added that an open Category D prison could be dangerous for someone like Gee. He said: “One, you are tempted to come down, two, you can engage in criminal activities. You can in jail, but it’s more open, more drugs, phones and the like. If you have a reputation you might get challenged. There are no screws. A lot of people are walking around all day, you’re unsupervised… it’s very, very different.”

Mr Samworth added: “That’s where the danger is for someone like Danny Gee, who’s on the run … back in the day, if you got out of a category D with a 30-day sentence, you’d be sentenced to another 30 days. Your return Danny Gee is an IPP prisoner. We don’t know why he went down, maybe it was temptation, maybe something happened.

“Danny, if he got out, he could turn his life around…Danny is a parolee. So depending on what happens depends on his future. It’s very hard to get up and stay free. A lot of people, criminals that I knew, they went to Spain and the like, outliving the authorities and you can incriminate other people.

“…If he surrenders or is caught by authorities, he could face up to two more years before being eligible for parole. This is the IPP sentence. Things are changing right now. Cat D offers people chances and opportunities, but it is also a very risky business for individuals.”

Gee was jailed for plotting to arm himself after threatening to kill 16-year-old gunman Jamie Starkey. Gee was seriously injured after being shot by Starkey, which happened outside an Anfield pub in the early hours, with one of the bullets going through his stomach and lung before exiting the back.

He was taken to hospital after the shooting but refused treatment but was described as being in severe amounts of pain and trauma after Starkey’s “murderous and unprovoked” attack. In an October 2009 trial, Gee was found guilty of two counts of making threats to kill and two counts of blackmail.

Jurors were unable to agree on the two more serious charges of conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to possess firearms and ammunition. As the second trial was about to start, Gee, formerly of Maryport Close, Everton, admitted the second charge. Prosecutor Ian Unsworth KC said Gee’s desire for revenge “knew no bounds”.

Gee’s lawyer argued during the trial that his client was “frankly terrified” at the thought of an indeterminate sentence and that he only conspired to arm himself because he feared another confrontation with the Starkeys. He claimed Gee was targeted because of his underworld surname and revealed his biggest fear was receiving an indefinite sentence as he believed he would never be released.

But the then Recorder of Liverpool, Judge Henry Globe KC, said: “I have no doubt that the public must be protected from you in the future. I really don’t know when it will be safe to release you.” Starkey was shot six times by a masked gunman outside his home on December 2, 2012. Despite five arrests and the recovery of the murder weapon, no one has been convicted of his death.

Speaking on a recent episode of the Criminal Connection Podcast, Darren, who has become an anti-knife campaigner since his release from a lengthy prison sentence for organizing a crime during a street war, said: “I hope it’s a run planned. If it’s an emotional fling, it’s going to go wrong.

Daniel Gee was last seen walking towards James Cook station before boarding a Middlesbrough service the day after he fled. Cleveland police could make no further progress in his disappearance. Given his previous links to the criminal underworld, along with his proximity to Scotland and Newcastle, investigating officers will fear he may have already fled the country.

When Daniel was last seen, he was wearing a pale blue t-shirt, black Adidas sweatpants with white stripes down both legs and a beige hat. He also had a JD bag that probably had a black hoodie inside. After Daniel went on the run, Cleveland Police said he is “believed to have links to the North Yorkshire area, including Whitby, Carlisle, St Helens and Merseyside”.

A spokesman added: “Anyone who has seen Daniel Gee or may know his current whereabouts is asked to call Cleveland Police on 101 quoting reference number 098852.”

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