HMP Woodhill: Double killer Lee Newell sues over attack by fellow inmate

Double killer Newell suffered head and brain injuries in the attack

A double murderer who lost an eye when he was attacked by a fellow prisoner is suing the government for allegedly failing to protect him.

Lee Newell, 52, was punched to the ground and kicked in the head by double killer Gary Vinter at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes in November 2014.

Vinter assaulted him in a bid to get moved to another jail, a court heard.

The Ministry of Justice's barrister said Vinter had threatened violence against staff, but not other prisoners.

Newell, originally from Norwich, also had a fractured skull and a severe brain injury after the attack, the High Court was told.

Nick Armstrong, representing Newell, said he should be awarded damages of £68,000-111,000 for his various injuries.

Newell is serving a whole-life term for the murder of child killer Subhan Anwar at HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire, which he committed in 2013 while serving life for murdering his neighbour, 56-year-old Mary Neal in Norwich in 1998.

The court heard Vinter attacked a fellow inmate because he wanted to be moved to another prison

Vinter was jailed in 1996 for the murder of a work colleague and was also given a whole-life tariff for killing his estranged wife in 2008.

He was handed a third life sentence for the attempted murder of Newell.

The court heard Vinter had stabbed Roy Whiting, the killer of Sarah Payne, with a sharpened toilet brush handle in 2011.

Mr Armstrong said Vinter had "a particular history of attacking other prisoners in order to achieve things he wanted".

Mr Armstrong argued that Vinter should not have been allowed to associate with other inmates.

The 27-second attack took place in the exercise yard at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes

Jack Holborn, representing the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), said Vinter's threats before the attack were "of a general nature" and aimed at staff, not fellow prisoners.

He said threats of that nature "were a not uncommon tactic amongst violent prisoners... to get what they wanted".

Mr Holborn said Newell and Vinter were "dangerous and violent men", but the MoJ could not keep them "permanently locked up and segregated from other prisoners".

"Even if there had been 10 officers outside of the door [of the exercise yard], it is clear they could not have intervened in the 27 seconds that it took for Vinter to cause the injuries," he said.

The hearing is due to conclude on Wednesday and it is expected that Judge Peter Marquand's judgment will be reserved to a later date.