Inquiry after knife robber walks out of Sudbury prison

Judge David Evans compared HMP Sudbury's security to a holiday camp after Jamie Subryan walked out.

A judge has ordered an inquiry into how a man convicted of knifepoint robberies was able to walk out of an open prison shortly after arriving there.

Jamie Subryan climbed out of a window at Sudbury Prison and went on the run for six months.

"It beggars belief and is truly shocking that escaping from prison should be as easy as walking out of a holiday camp," said Judge David Evans.

Subryan handed himself in to police in Exeter on 6 January.

Low fence

He was three years into a sentence of eight years and four months sentence for three robberies in north London when he was moved to the Category D open prison in Derbyshire.

He was found to be missing from his cell at 05:30 on 18 July 2018, but claimed to have escaped the night before, shortly after arriving.

Barry White, defending, said Subryan simply opened the window and got out before walking to the front gate and climbing over a low fence.

Judge Evans ordered the governor of HMP Sudbury, Adrian Turner, to provide a written explanation within a week of how Subryan was able to walk out without anyone noticing.

'Extra eight months'

"I would like to know how he was able to leave his room, walk across an open space and climb a fence near the entrance without the possibility of detection or prevention," he said.

During his time on the run, Subryan moved to Liverpool, then Bude in Cornwall and worked as a labourer before going to Exeter, where he gave himself up.

He admitted escaping lawful custody and was sentenced at Exeter Crown Court to an extra eight months in prison.