PAEDO Ian Watkins was a “sitting duck” in jail and had to be saved by an SAS style unit years before his eventual murder.
The former Lostprophets frontman was ambushed and knifed in the neck by another lag at HMP Wakefield this morning.
Former Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins has been murdered in jail[/caption]
The ‘SAS like’ unit operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and is seen as the ‘elite of the elite’ within the Prison Service[/caption]
Police and medics raced to the Category A Wakefield Prison in West Yorkshire as the shamed singer was airlifted to hospital.
The 48-year-old was pronounced dead shortly after arriving.
Watkins – who was serving 35 years for a string of child sex offences, including the attempted rape of a baby – was hit in the jugular and bled out, sources confirmed.
Wakefield Prison has been dubbed ‘Monster Mansion’ in the past due to the number of high-profile killers, terrorists and sex offenders it holds.
The rocker’s brutal death was not the first time Watkins was targeted in jail by fellow cons.
A source told The Sun: “He has been attacked a few times inside Wakefield over the last few years, so perhaps this was just a matter of time.
“So that meant he was walking around with a target on his back, and this has happened.”
Watkins was lucky to be alive after he was grabbed by three other lags who attacked him and left him with neck injuries.
We previously revealed how Watkins was only saved when a shadowy unit compared to the SAS was sent in to save his life.
The elite National Tactical Response Group (NTRG) was deployed to HMP Wakefield – nicknamed Monster Mansion – and successfully rescued the rocker from the cell.
A siege at the jail only ended when the “Tornado” team of riot officers hurled stun grenades into the cell to free Watkins.
One former prison officer also spoke to The Sun about the challenge of keeping Watkins safe inside such a volatile environment, years before his death.
In a warning that ultimately rang true, he said: “My view is that it was only a matter of time before Watkins was attacked.
“Even within the community of rapists and perverts some will take issue with Watkins.
“Another problem at Wakefield is the lads doing big jail do not really care what happens to them. How can you punish a lifer?
“Moving forward it will now be a challenge to keep Watkins safe inside the prison system.”
The SAS-style team who rescued Watkins wear flame-proof uniforms, stab-proof vests and armoured gloves and go equipped with pepper spray, smoke bombs and batons.
Officers are trained in the use of pyrotechnics , restraint and negotiation.
Watkins was handed a prison sentence for a string of child sex offences[/caption]
The sick fiend was jailed in 2013[/caption]
The rock world was left stunned by his arrest and trial[/caption]
The crack unit is shrouded in secrecy to protect officers from reprisals.
That stabbing was sparked by a row over guitar lessons and anger over jail visits from a younger “girlfriend” of Watkins.
Following his death today, justice sources said Watkin’s attacker had been identified.
Notorious Wakefield’s inmates from the past have included Roy Whiting, who killed Sarah Payne, Jeremy Bamber and paedophile killer Mark Bridger.
It also holds cop-killing Al-Qaeda terrorist Kamel Bourgass, serial rapist Reynhard Sinaga and child killer Mick Philpott.
Who was Ian Watkins?
Watkins found fame in 2000 with Welsh band Lostprophets and went on to sell more than 3.4million albums worldwide.
He was the poster-boy of the band and attracted a huge cult following.
But the rock world was stunned by his arrest and subsequent trial which saw him described in court as a “determined and committed paedophile”.
Watkins preyed on fans, including two who offered up their babies to be abused by their idol.
Life and crimes of Ian Watkins
IAN Watkins was the super-confident and charismatic frontman of alt-rock band Lostprophets as they rose to fame in the early 2000s.
He had formed the group with guitarist Lee Gaze in Pontypridd, Wales in 1997 and they went on to build up a huge following on the UK’s underground music scene.
A debut album, The Fake Sound of Progress – released in 2000 – brought them commercial success.
Second album Start Something, which came out four years later spawned hits including Last Train Home and Burn Burn.
Further success followed with 2006’s Liberation Transmission and The Betrayed, released in 2010.
Lostprophets sold out venues including the Cardiff international Arena, and Watkins – their energetic lead-singer – had a legion of adoring fans.
But rumours began to swirl of his erratic behaviour, drug use and a sinister dark side.
Still, the rock world was stunned by his 2012 arrest and subsequent conviction – which led detectives to label twisted Watkins the most dangerous sex offender they had encountered.
Watkins, who briefly dated TV and radio star Fearne Cotton in 2005, denied charges against him – but changed his plea to guilty at the start of his 2013 trial.
He confessed to 13 vile offences – including trying to rape a fan’s 11-month-old son and conspiring to rape another’s daughter.
Watkins also admitted possessing indecent photos of children found on computers at his home in Pontypridd, South Wales.
Of 90 abuse images, 24 were level five – the most serious category.
Officers had to turn to experts at government intelligence network GCHQ to crack encryption codes.
Meanwhile Cardiff Crown Court heard how he joked with a female fan 24 hours after his confession – calling his offences “mega lolz” (slang for laughing out loud).
In a recorded call from jail, he said: “I’m going to put a statement out just to say it was mega lolz.
“I don’t know what everyone’s getting so freaked out about.”
The fiend claimed at court that he could not remember the sickening attacks because he was a “heavy user” of crystal meth at the time.
But his own KC, Sally O’Neil admitted: “There is little that can be said in way of mitigation.”
And – handing out one of the longest tariffs ever to a convicted paedophile – Mr Justice Royce said: “These courts see a large number of horrific cases. This case, however, breaks new ground.
“You had many fawning fans. That gave you power.
“You knew you could use that power to induce young female fans to help satisfy your insatiable lust and take part in the sexual abuse of their children.
“Away from the highlights of your performances lay a dark and sinister side.”
Det Chief Insp Peter Doyle said: “He has shown no empathy or remorse.
“That potentially makes him the most dangerous sex offender I’ve ever seen.”
Two co-defendants – fans who were the mothers of victims – were caged for 14 and 17 years each.
In 2014, Watkins was refused the right to appeal against his 35-year sentence.
So until his death yesterday, he languished in bleak Wakefield Prison, West Yorkshire – one of Britain’s toughest jails where many will believe an act of brutal natural justice was meted out.
The sick rocker filmed himself committing sex acts on a baby boy the day after Lostprophets final album Weapons was released.
Watkins was charged in 2012 and sentenced the following year.
The vile paedo – an ex of TV and radio star Fearne Cotton – was jailed in 2013 after a shocking trial for offences including the attempted rape of a baby.
He changed his plea to guilty at the beginning of the trial and admitted to trying to rape a fan’s baby and plotting to rape another infant.
The fiend claimed at Cardiff Crown Court he could not remember the sickening attacks because he was a “heavy user” of crystal meth at the time.
His two co-defendants, fans who were the mothers of victims, received sentences of 14 and 17 years in prison.
In 2014, he was refused the right to appeal against his 35-year sentence.
Lord Justice Christopher Pitchford said his offences were of “such shocking depravity” that the long sentence was called for.
In 2019, Watkins was convicted of having a banned mobile phone in prison – and had another 10 months added to his sentence.
He used the device to communicate with scores of warped female fans from his cell.
The phone was found concealed on him after an ex-girlfriend tipped off jail bosses.
Watkins performing in 2008[/caption]
Watkins performing in London a few months before his arrest in 2012[/caption]
