Convicted burglar £5.5m payout after being stabbed 16 times in prison

A convicted burglar left with a phobia of kitchens after being stabbed 16 times whilst working in a prison canteen has been handed a massive £5.5m compensation payout after suing the Ministry of Justice.

Government lawyers had argued that because burglar Steven Wilson, 36, had 'next to no history' of having earned an honest penny in his life, a multimillion-pound payout would be 'out of accord with what society would perceive as being reasonable'.

Wilson suffered injuries including a torn liver, fractured spine and lacerated spinal cord when convicted murderer Patrick Chandler attacked him 'out of the blue' in July 2018 with a nine-inch knife whilst they both worked in the kitchen at HMP Chelmsford.

He later sued, claiming the MoJ failed to adequately assess whether violent lifer Chandler was safe for kitchen work, given the opportunity to access knives and sharp items.

The MoJ admitted liability for the attack and agreed that Wilson is due compensation, but argued that, because he had a 20-year criminal record, with 'next to no history' of having earned an honest penny, he should not get the £5million-plus damages he was claiming.

At the time of the attack, Wilson was on remand for an aggravated burglary, for which he was later sentenced to six-and-a-half years' imprisonment. 

But at the High Court this morning, Judge Melissa Clarke awarded Wilson a compensation payout of just under £5.5m, while also ordering the government to pay his £546,000 lawyers' bill on top.

Wilson, of Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, was on remand for an aggravated burglary - of which he was later convicted - when he was attacked by Chandler.

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Convicted burglar, 36, 'left with a phobia of kitchens' after being stabbed 16 times in a prison canteen sues the Ministry of Justice for £5million

At the time, his attacker was only 24 days into a life sentence, imposed for the brutal knife murder of John Comer, 45, in Lawford, Essex, in December 2017.

The formerly 'fit and fearless' Wilson recalled Chandler 'looking at him strangely' before he lashed out, as if he was 'looking straight through him'.

He was stabbed in the stomach with such force that it lifted him off the ground, but survived with a range of severe injuries and was left wheelchair bound.

Chandler later admitted attempting to murder Wilson and received an additional life sentence and ten-year minimum term in November 2018.

Chandler's overall risk rating had been assessed by the MoJ as 'medium', court documents disclosed, despite two weeks before the attack having allegedly told his supervisor that 'he had fantasized about violence and what he was going to do to people and about making weapons'.

Wilson's barrister, Giles Mooney KC, told the judge that, once off the operating table, he was treated in hospital for over two months and had to use a wheelchair.

He now needs a stick to get around, is plagued by chronic pain and cannot work due to the legacy of his attack.

Giving evidence, Wilson told the judge: 'I went in there a perfectly fit young man and came out in a wheelchair.'

He said he is still haunted by the attack, has a deep horror of knives and now tries to avoid going into the kitchen at all times.

'When I see knives I feel cold,' he said from the witness box. 'You don't understand the chill I get when I see a knife.

'I can't be in a kitchen or around knives because it reminds me of the attack.'

His ordeal also triggered flashbacks, PTSD and nightmares, he said, telling the court: 'When I came out I kept seeing this man.

'I knew that he was behind bars, but I kept seeing him, I had dreams that he was chasing me and I'd wake up in a pool of sweat.'

During the trial of the case, MoJ barrister Richard Wheeler KC told the judge: 'While the defendant accepts the claimant must be compensated for his injuries, that compensation must be fair, reasonable and just,' adding that Wilson had a lengthy criminal record, including offences involving criminal damage, theft, driving, breach of community orders and violence.

Although he had at one point claimed to have earned £800-a-week prior to going to jail, he had put forward 'no evidence' of how he did this, said the barrister.

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'The defendant submits the claimant's background is relevant to the assessment of damages and to the balance to be struck between achieving fair compensation for the claimant, whilst achieving an outcome which is not out of accord with what society would perceive as being reasonable, given the claimant's background and lifestyle before the assault.'

The MoJ argued that Wilson has made improvements in his condition since the attack and so does not need the level of care going forward that he claimed.

Mr Mooney however insisted that the MoJ had 'seriously undervalued' the claim and that he deserves the payout he claimed.

'It is entirely accepted that Mr Wilson had a somewhat troubled and criminal past prior to the attack on him,' he told the judge.

'However, the attack has left him with very serious injuries. He has extensive care, therapeutic and accommodation needs.'

Handing down judgment this morning, Judge Clarke said that some of the experts put forward by the Government Legal Department had during the trial 'departed from an initial fair and independent approach to Mr Wilson's case'.

One expert was criticised for 'cherry picking' excerpts from video surveillance evidence, whilst another had 'lost sight of the fact that his first duty was to the court and was actively seeking to persuade the court to make a lower award,' the judge said.

'I have asked that there should be some introspection by the Government Legal Department on this and whether experts were asked to move away to more partisan and unfair analysis,' she said.

'I understand there has now been some such introspection by the Government Legal Department and I shall say no more about it.'

She went on to award a compensation payout of just under £5.5m, with Wilson's legal bill of £546,030.99 on top.

The judge ordered the government to pay £400,000 up front in regard to the legal costs bill.