Jamie Varley reportedly spent his first night behind bars weeping and is currently refusing to eat or leave his cell – now a category A nurse has explained why she believes he’s “absolutely terrified”
Jamie Varley is serving a whole-life sentence for the abuse and murder of 13-month-old Preston Davey(Image: Lancashire Police)
A nurse working in a Category A prison says she would be “terrified” if she was in baby killer Jamie Varley’s position – with fellow inmates out for blood – and that the vile murderer may be seeking sympathy.
Speaking anonymously to protect her job, the Category A prison nurse said staff are expected to treat every inmate professionally, regardless of their crimes. But she admitted that if she were in the position of Jamie Varley, who is serving a whole-life sentence for the abuse and murder of 13-month-old Preston Davey, she would be “absolutely terrified”, adding that she would likely struggle to eat or even leave her cell.
After Varley, 37, was sentenced, he was transferred to HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire, nicknamed “Monster Mansion” because it houses some of Britain’s most notorious sex offenders and killers. The prison has also seen attacks on inmates, with child killer Kyle Bevan and child sex offender Ian Watkins both fatally stabbed while serving time there.
After Varley reportedly spent his first night weeping in his cell and refusing to eat or leave it, the nurse drew on her experience of dealing with notorious prisoners who have gone on hunger strike or been placed on suicide watch. Speaking during an interview on the Break The Ice YouTube channel, she was asked whether inmates took this course of action out of fear for their own safety.
She said: “I think it’s a combination that he is afraid and probably with good reason as well. There are other prisoners who are serving whole life orders and they don’t have anything to lose. Do they care? Do they want respect?”
“For whatever reasons, they want to harm him, they have nothing to lose at this point. So, if I was him, I would be absolutely terrified. I don’t think I would leave the cell. I don’t think I would eat either. I’d be a wreck.”
Asked whether Varley may also be attempting to garner sympathy, she added: “I do think partly from experience that he wants people to feel sorry for him. Maybe he wants the nurse checking in on him.
“If he knows there’s officers coming in every 15 minutes because he is on an ACCT (Assessment Care, Custody, Teamwork) it gives less time for other people to be after him. The nurses will have to be nice and respectful. The officers will be nice and respectful.
“So with all of this and not eating and saying he is suicidal, somebody will be coming in saying, ‘Are you doing ok? Do you need anything?’ He can hear, however, many voices screaming awful things towards him. And then a nurse walks in and says, ‘How are you doing today? How are you coping? Do you need anything? Let’s do your observations. Sit down.’
“It’s that sort of sense of normality because he doesn’t strike me as someone who has medical problems. Just being nice and being kind like a nurse would be to you or me just the same.”
Asked how Varley would be treated by medical staff despite the nature of his crimes, the nurse said his offences would not affect the care he receives, with every inmate treated with the same respect and dignity. She added that any nurse who behaved unprofessionally or openly criticised a prisoner – even one accused of horrific crimes – would be unlikely to work as a nurse again.
She also dismissed suggestions staff would deliberately leave a cell door unlocked to allow “prison justice” to take its course, explaining that any death in custody is subject to intense scrutiny and nurses may later have to justify the care they provided at a coroner’s court. Asked whether Varley could be sectioned if he continued refusing food, she said it was unlikely, as refusing to eat alone would not normally justify such action.
She added: “If he’s talking like I’m talking to you now, as long as he understands the risks of not eating and understands the risks of being suicidal, we’re allowed to feel that way as people. He’s not stupid. He’s smart. He’s got a degree. He was a teacher. He was a safeguarding leader. He knows what he’s doing.”
She said staff would continue monitoring Varley unless he was able to demonstrate he was coping and no longer posed a risk to himself.
Drawing on her own experience, the nurse said she had dealt with around 60 prisoners who had refused to eat and believed Varley would eventually begin eating again. He is serving a whole-life sentence for murdering 13-month-old Preston Davey, who suffered 40 internal and external injuries. His partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, was jailed for 25 years for his role in the abuse.
Reports have since suggested he is using the name Harry Robb while being held at HMP Wakefield.
