Law change call after ex-prison officer murder

Lenny Scott was gunned down after he left the prison service

A "plain gap" in the law must be closed after the revenge killing of a former prison officer, Parliament has been told.

Armed robber Elias Morgan shot Lenny Scott in Skelmersdale, Lancashire, in 2024, as he was the officer who seized a phone from his cell at HMP Altcourse years earlier.

Mr Scott had left the prison service two years earlier, meaning Morgan did not receive the harshest penalty of a whole life order - something which is given to those who kill an on-duty prison or police officer.

The Conservatives argue this should be expanded to include offenders who murder off-duty or former officers because of their job.

Morgan, 35, from Liverpool, was sentenced to a minimum of 45 years in jail on 2 September.

He had denied murder but was found guilty after a trial at Preston Crown Court.

Pressing for a change to the Sentencing Bill currently going through Parliament, Tory frontbencher Lord Sandhurst said in the House of Lords: "We have seen the consequences of the existing drafting.

"The tragic case of former prison officer Lenny Scott revealed the gap starkly."

Morgan would never have left jail if he had murdered a serving prison officer

Mr Scott, 33, found a phone in Morgan's cell while working at the prison in Merseyside.

When he refused a bribe to turn a blind eye and reported the find, which revealed Morgan was in a sexual relationship with a female prison officer, the convict threatened his family and vowed revenge.

Almost four years later, after Morgan had served his sentence and Mr Scott had left the Prison Service, he carried out the threat.

Mr Scott was leaving a gym in Skelmersdale, Lancashire, on 8 February 2024 when he was shot six times by Morgan.

'Clear loophole'

Lord Sandhurst said: "It was a murder directly and unequivocally connected to the past performance of his duties.

"This was a gangland execution intended to punish Lenny for doing his duty and not giving way to what had been asked of him, and to terrify and intimidate other prison officers into doing gangsters' bidding in the future."

He added: "Because this crime did not occur in the course of his duty but a couple of years later, the statutory framework failed to treat it as the kind of murder for which Parliament provides the highest penalty and the judge therefore did not pass a whole-life order.

"This is a clear loophole in the legislation, and I look to the minister to put it right. How many more Lennies will there be?"

Lord Sandhurst added: "We cannot undo the tragedy that happened to Lenny Scott and his family, nor repair the pain, but we can ensure that the law is changed.

"This is a plain gap in the legislation as currently drafted, and it must be closed immediately."

Lord Timpson said a whole-life order was "normally the appropriate starting point" for murdering a police or prison officer on duty" and was introduced to recognise the "unique and dangerous job" they do daily.

The minister said even though Mr Scott was not a serving officer the judge imposed a life sentence with a 45-year minimum term adding, "it is likely that the perpetrator in this case will spend the rest of his life in prison, given that he was 35 at the time of conviction".

"When a murder is motivated and driven by the officer's service, the seriousness, risk and moral culpability are exactly the same.

"This is a plain gap in the legislation as currently drafted, and it must be closed immediately."