Murder suspect John Anslow's escape: was it an inside job?

THERE are suspicions that the springing of murder suspect John Anslow  from a prison van taking him to court on Monday may have been an inside job. According to the Birmingham Mail, an unnamed security worker with links to the Prison Service has been arrested by police hunting Anslow, while a respected criminologist suspects "collusion".

The 44-year-old man "with links to the Prison Service" was detained on Monday, some hours after Anslow escaped when the van taking him to Stafford Crown Court from Hewell Grange Prison was ambushed by three masked men.

After smashing their way into the vehicle with sledgehammers, they released Anslow but left other prisoners behind. As Justice Secretary Ken Clarke said, it was "a well orchestrated armed ambush".

How the gang knew which van to target has been one of the questions asked in the 48 hours since the ambush occurred.

As police posted a £10,000 request for help in finding Anslow, Birmingham City University Professor of Criminology David Wilson told the Birmingham Mail the escape was "either a complete and utter cock-up or collusion".

Wilson, a former prison governor, said: "There were other security vans leaving Hewell Grange. How did these people know to target that van and not one 30 or 40 minutes earlier or later?"

Anslow is charged with the murder of Black Country businessman Richard Deakin, who died in 2010 when he was attacked by a masked killer.

Deakin's family have other questions: Why was Anslow being transferred in a private contractor's prison van not in a Prison Service vehicle with a police escort as his Category A status demanded? Why was he being held at Hewell Grange, designed for less dangerous prisoners?

And why did he need to be produced in court for what was only a preliminary hearing when he could have appeared via video link from Hewell Grange?

The Ministry of Justice is investigating. Anslow remains on the run. ·