HMP Wakefield: 9 high-profile prisoners in 'Monster Mansion'

It was given the nickname ‘Monster Mansion’ because of the vast amount of high-profile, high-risk sex offenders and murderers who are imprisoned on the premises.

The prison was originally built as a house of correction in 1594 with most of the current buildings dating from the Victorian era - the current prison was designated a dispersal prison in 1967 and is one of the oldest prisons of its kind still operating across England and Wales.

It was revealed in 2001 that a new ultra-secure unit was to be built at HMP Wakefield - the unit was to house the most dangerous inmates within the British prison system and was the first of its kind to be built in the UK.

HMP Wakefield holds approximately 600 of Britain’s most dangerous criminals (Image: Canva)

Some of the most notorious prisoners at HMP Wakefield include Charles Bronson and Harold Shipman – more recent inmates include Jeremy Bamber and former Lostprophets lead singer Ian Watkins.

Here is a selection of other current and former prisoners at HMP Wakefield.

Some of the most notorious prisoners at HMP Wakefield

Charles Bronson

Charles Bronson who was born under the name Michael Peterson was convicted of armed robbery in 1974 and has earned a reputation as a violent and dangerous inmate, which has led to him spending most of his life behind bars.

After almost 50 years spent in jail, he is currently awaiting a decision by the Parole Board on whether he can be freed, reports the BBC.

Charles Bronson is awaiting a decision by the Parole Board on whether he can be freed from jail (Image: PA Media)

Ian Watkins

Former lead singer of rock band Lostprophets, Ian Watkins, was jailed for 29 years in 2013 for multiple sexual offences, including the sexual assault of young children.

Jeremy Bamber

Jeremy Bamber was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his mother, father, sister and her two sons in Essex in 1985.

Harold Shipman

Harold Shipman is a former GP and prolific serial killer who murdered approximately 250 victims, most of whom were elderly women, reports Radio Times.

In 2000, he was found guilty of murdering fifteen patients under his care and one count of forgery, resulting in his imprisonment for life with the recommendation that he was never to be released.

He died at HMP Wakefield on January 13, 2004.

Ian Huntley

Ian Huntley was found guilty of murdering 10-year-old school girls, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2003.

He was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment, with the High Court later imposing a minimum term of 40 years.

In 2008, Ian Huntley was moved to HMP Frankland in County Durham.

Klaus Fuchs

Klaus Fuchs was a German theoretical physicist and atomic spy who supplied information to the Soviet Union during and shortly after World War II.

He served nine years and four months of his fourteen-year term at Wakefield, between 1951 and 1959.

HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire is one of the few Category A prisons in the UK (Image: Canva)

Reynhard Sinaga

Reynhard Sinaga was convicted of 159 sex offences, including 136 rapes of young men committed in Manchester between 2015 and 2017.

He was sentenced in January 2020 to 40 years in jail.

Kamel Bourgass

Kamel Bourgass was convicted at the Old Bailey on June 29, 2004, for the murder of police officer Stephen Oake, the attempted murder of two other officers and the wounding of another, reports Yorkshire Live.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years and an additional 15 years for the attempted murder charges.

A second trial in connection with the bioterrorism plot concluded on April 8, 2005. Bourgass was convicted of conspiracy to commit a public nuisance by using poisons or explosives and handed an extra 17 years to his sentence.

Robert Black

Robert Black was convicted in 1994 of murdering four young girls during the 1980s, he served some of his sentence at HMP Wakefield before he was transferred to HMP Maghaberry where he died in 2016.