Prison officer who saw paedophile disembowelled in jail cell wins £125k payout

A prison officer who was left “haunted” after witnessing the aftermath of a brutal jail killing has had a £125,000 payout.

Alan Johnson was first on the scene after paedophile Mitchell Harrison, 23, was disembowelled in a cell.

The 59-year-old officer was diagnosed with PTSD after flashbacks, anxiety, lost sleep and depression.

But employment judge Garnon ruled Prison Service governors, line managers and HR had, “written him off because that was the easiest option for them”.

The scene Mr Johnson came upon at HMP Frankland, Durham, followed one of the most grisly killings in a UK prison.

Mitchell Harrison was disembowelled in his cell (PA)

Lifers Michael Parr, 32, and Nathan Mann, 23, cut Harrison’s neck with a plastic scalpel and opened his stomach.

At a North Shields tribunal, Mr Johnson won a claim for harassment while trying to return to work, with a payout to be announced.

His earlier civil claim against the Prison Service resulted in the £125,000 settlement.

Mr Johnson tonight declined to comment