Inmate at jail run by rogue prison boss had chief's name 'tattooed on his face'

Kerri Pegg, 42, has been convicted of misconduct in public office.

Inmates at a jail run by a governor convicted of misconduct in public office would ask for the prison chief by her first name - with one even having it tattooed on his face.

Kerri Pegg, 42, was seen as a "rising star" of the Prison Service after she climbed the career ladder from graduate entrant to governor in a matter of years. But she became involved in a relationship with Liverpool organised crime boss Anthony Saunderson, helping him secure day releases.

Conversations on his encrypted phone not only proved to be his own downfall, but also provided the evidence that showed he and Pegg were engaged in an illicit relationship. Pegg, who was said to "not play by the rules that everybody else had to follow", began the relationship with Saunderson during their time together at HMP Kirkham.

The romance blossomed after Pegg approved a temporary temporary licence release for Saunderson without the approved authority, before the dealer bought her a car paid for with dozens of kilos of drugs. Pegg's behaviour had repeatedly been cause for concern for the jail's upper echelons, with claims she had been inappropriately close with prisoners and flaunted established rules.

Sources told our sister title, the Liverpool Echo, that Pegg had a history of concerning behaviour and "the writing was on the wall from the start". Pegg is due to be sentenced on Monday.

'Writing was on the wall' for the 'rising star'

Pegg, originally from Bramhall in Stockport, had previously worked in the Probation Service for eight years. She was married at 26 but divorced four years later and switched to the Prison Service for a new challenge. Pegg joined in 2012 as a graduate entrant, working her way up at prisons including Risley, Liverpool and Styal and by April 2018 she was working as band eight governor at HMP Kirkham, which means she was head of a function. The keen gym-goer had a love of the finer things in life, dressing in designer clothes and Jimmy Choo shoes while clutching luxury handbags.

But Pegg, who also spent thousands on breast enhancement surgery, was deep in debt and had not declared county court judgments. This amounted to misconduct in a public office as debts make officials vulnerable to corruption. Her four credit cards were "maxed out" and she had just 6p in her savings account.

And despite her apparent work successes, there were concerns from her colleagues about her conduct with inmates. One experienced prison officer who worked alongside her at HMP Liverpool told the Echo: "You could see from a mile off that she was extremely naïve and an accident waiting to happen."

The officer said: "I knew Kerri well. Honestly I'm not surprised this has happened. You could see from a mile off. A few years back we heard she'd been arrested and was apparently with a drug dealer, but then it all went quiet. There were quite a few things from her time at Walton that stood out. She started off very pro-con, wanting to help them as much as possible - which isn't necessarily a bad thing - but she'd completely undermine wing staff. She would promise some of the more difficult prisoners rewards like vapes if they behaved, which just made things harder for everyone else.

"She even supported a prisoner in an adjudication after they had assaulted a member of staff. It got to the point where prisoners would ask for her specifically because they knew she would sort something out for them. To say she was well-liked by them is an understatement - one even tattooed her name across his face."

The officer added: "She got overly friendly with the cons and was pulled up by senior officers more than once for her behaviour and appearance on the wings. We had to remind her that some of the lads in there wouldn't think twice about pulling her into a cell, but she didn't seem to care - after all, she was a governor and we were just officers, so what did we know?"

The prison governor and the drug dealer

Early warning signs regarding Pegg's behaviour were clearly missed - and during her time at HMP Kirkham more concerns were raised about her inappropriate contact with prisoners. She was regularly spoken to and warned about her conduct, but continued nonetheless.

One of the prisoners she was close to was Anthony Saunderson, who had been transferred to the open prison in June 2017 and at the time of his contact with Pegg was reaching the end of a sentence for drugs offences. Saunderson had at one time been one of Merseyside's most wanted fugitives and been part of a team put together to recover 400kg of high purity cocaine which had been imported in shipments of corned beef from Argentina with a street value of nearly £20m.

Saunderson, who at the time was living in Kirkby, was not part of the original importation but had been entrusted by the smugglers to track down the cocaine after a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation replaced the packages with house bricks. He was handed a 10 year sentence for conspiracy to supply cocaine and money laundering in May 2014.

Pegg and Saunderson began to spent a lot of time together in her office, often with the door closed. Graeme Bristow, the prison's duty governor who had been appointed as her mentor, warned her about her behaviour but she continued, claiming there were "cultural issues" at the jail and her approach was "progressive and hands-on".

A particular concern was her continued involvement in Saunderson's applications to take part in activities outside of the prison. She was deemed such a risk to the integrity of the prison and other staff members that in July 2018 she was temporarily removed to a "back office" function to limit her contact. She was moved back to her original role the following month and in October of the same year approved Saunderson's request to be released on temporary licence.

Requests of this nature are routine in an open prison, but rules specify requests should be submitted to the senior member of staff, namely the duty governor, who would then either approve or decline it. On the day in question Mr Bristow had a number of such requests, but not one for Saunderson.

It was only two days later that the duty governor became aware of it. Pegg was moved from HMP Kirkham to another prison on October 12 2018 and Saunderson was released in May of the following year. The pair's story picked up again in early 2020 after European law enforcement gained access to the EncroChat system.

'Jesse Pinkman' and the '12 quid car'

Saunderson didn't go straight when he was released. Instead, he embedded himself even deeper into serious and organised criminality. He and a number of other gangland figures were responsible for producing amphetamines on an industrial, multi-million pound scale at a premises in Chester.

Communications seen by law enforcement between the conspirators detailed supply arrangements as far afield as Dundee, Glasgow, Neath and Newcastle. Their profits were estimated to have reached £6m, but their commitment to amphetamine didn't dampen enthusiasm for trading in other drugs.

Saunderson also traded in cocaine and heroin and cockily hid behind the EncroChat handles "Jesse Pinkman" and "James Gandolfini" - nods to the Breaking Bad character and the Sopranos actor. Showing both his ruthlessness and dangerousness, he also armed himself with weapons when he believed he was being watched.

While Saunderson's messages showed his involvement in the massive drugs trafficking operation, others revealed the ongoing nature of his relationship with Pegg, who served as a duty governor at HMP Lancaster Farms before co-ordinating regional drug strategy in six prisons in the north west.

On April 6 2020 Saunderson received a message "car her for ya bird 12 quid or work" and a photo of the black Mercedes coupe worth £12,000. The "12 quid" meant £12,000 and "work" meant drugs. Saunderson asked "what work they want" and he was told "top or weed" – that is, cocaine or cannabis. Two days later Saunderson arranged for "17 packs" to be dropped off in Manchester to pay for the car, topping up the swap in cash.

The Mercedes was then registered to Pegg, who swapped out her Honda Jazz for the upgrade, at her home in Orrell on April 11 2020 and a message to Saunderson from a friend read: "where u ya seedy man u and Peggy out floating orrel in the new whip?" Saunderson also sent a picture of the V5 document for the Mercedes to the person who offered him the car. The background of the photograph was the wall of Pegg's flat.

The 'burner' phone and Saunderson's plot to hide in plain sight

While Pegg didn't have an EncroChat phone, she did have in her possession a small Nokia mobile which she used as a burner phone, exclusively to speak with Saunderson. Pegg said her continued contact with Saunderson after his release was because of his work in prisons.

Despite flooding the streets with poison, wreaking havoc on the most vulnerable, he had also developed and delivered a programme called Beating Alcohol and Drug Dependency (BADD) for inmates. The plot saw him masquerade as a reformed man, travelling into prisons to allegedly help the most vulnerable overcome their addictions. It is understood he volunteered for a Blackpool-based project and was never an employee of the Prison Service when doing so.

However, it appears Saunderson was doing it to spend as much time as he could with Pegg, with even members of his own gang grumbling that their boss was spending too much time with her and away from his wife and "work". Pegg however said her contact with Saunderson continued because she was "giving some assistance and advice". She would go on to claim the burner phone was a "support mechanism" as Saunderson's wife was a "very jealous woman" and "did not like him having contact with any women".

On November 19 2020 officers attended Pegg's home and arrested her for misconduct in a public office. The burner phone was found in a kitchen drawer and while she was in the police station it rang several times. Analysis found there were 81 calls and five text messages from a number attributed to Saunderson.

Other evidence was also found at her flat, including a toothbrush and a pair of size 10 flip flops with Saunderson's DNA on. Officers also seized a number of letters which showed she was subject of a number of county court judgments for unpaid debts. When interviewed she provided a prepared statement denying any involvement in crime but admitted she was "not being good" with money.

She also claimed she had bought the car herself and had the paperwork to prove it. However, she was unable to provide it when officers returned her back to her flat. She was arrested again on February 11 2021 and answered no comment to any of the questions put to her. However, the car company which she claimed sold her the Mercedes said they had never dealt with her as a customer.

Pegg resigned from the Prison Service in March 2021 and started working as an operations manager at homeless charity The Brick, based in Wigan. Pegg, who by 2023 had moved to Cinnamon Brow in Upholland, was charged with two counts of misconduct in a public office and possession of criminal property. After an initial adjournment, she went on trial last month.

'Naïve, gullible, put prisoners above principles...but taken advantage of by an odious individual'

During her trial, Pegg's counsel Andy Alty told the trial Pegg was "green and stupid" but had led an "unblemished life", never having been in trouble with the police before and now working for a homeless charity. He told the jury: You are also entitled to take into account Saunderson and his character, who I suggest is a manipulative and dishonest person who has fooled many people along the way before he ended up back in prison.

"Kerri Pegg is naïve, gullible, put prisoners above principles and common sense, has been taken advantage of by a far more sophisticated, odious individual, Anthony Saunderson." Meanwhile Barbara-Louise Webster, prosecuting, said: "The mix of DNA, both hers and his on the flip flops and the toothbrush, are very telling.

"They must have spent considerable time together and she must have suspected that vehicle was from criminal conduct. Kerri Pegg had a promising future until she started to play outside the rules. Anthony Saunderson was her downfall."