Daniel Gee manhunt: Ex-prison officer on how long gangster could face in jail after Teesside escape

An ex-prison officer has stated that Daniel Gee, who fled a Teesside prison more than two weeks ago, will face additional prison time when he is finally caught.

Neil 'Sam' Samworth, a former prison officer at Strangeways prison, has expressed his belief that escaped prisoner Daniel Gee can still turn his life around. Gee, 44, who fled from category D open prison Kirklevington Grange on May 27, was sentenced indefinitely in 2010 for the public's protection after being convicted of gun offences.

His brother Darren is among Samworth's former inmates. Gee was serving an indeterminate sentence for public protection (IPP), a type of sentence introduced in 2005 for serious crimes but abolished in 2012 due to public outcry.

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Under this sentence, he had to serve a minimum of four years before his case could be reviewed by the parole board. This sentence ran concurrently with a seven-and-a-half-year term he was serving for drug offences.

Despite the abolition of IPP sentences, the change was not applied retrospectively, meaning all existing IPP prisoners, including Gee, had to comply with the terms of their original sentence. Speaking on his podcast Real Porridge with Sam Samworth, the ex-prison officer described Gee as "infamous in the prison estate", with many questioning why the former gang leader was housed in an open prison, reports the Liverpool Echo.

However, he warned that a category D open prison could pose risks for someone like Gee. He explained: "One, you are tempted to get off, two, you can get involved in criminal activity. You can in prison, but it is more open, more drugs, phones and the like. If you have a reputation you might get challenged. There are no screws about. A lot of people walk around the day, you are unsupervised...it's very, very different."

Mr Samworth continued: "Here is the danger for someone like Danny Gee who is on the run...it used to be if you got off from a category D with 30 days on your sentence you would be sentenced for an extra 30 days on your return. Danny Gee is an IPP prisoner. We do not know why he has got off, maybe it was the temptation, maybe something happened."

"Danny, if he got out, could turn his life around...Danny is a parole prisoner. So dependent on what happens is dependent on his future. It's very difficult to get on your toes and stay at large. Lots of people, criminals I knew, went to Spain and the like, living the life. The authorities catch up with you. And you can incriminate other people."

"...If he hands himself in or gets caught by authorities he could be facing another two years before he is given parole. That is the IPP sentence. Things are changing right now. Cat D is giving people chances and opportunities but is also a very risky business for individuals."

Daniel Gee was spotted heading towards James Cook train station and was seen boarding a train to Middlesbrough the day after he went missing. His past connections to criminal networks and his last known location being close to Scotland and Newcastle raise concerns among officers that he may have already left the UK.

When Daniel was last seen, he was dressed in a pale blue t-shirt, black Adidas tracksuit bottoms with white stripes down the sides, and a beige hat. He also had a JD sports bag, which is thought to have contained a black hoodie.

Following his disappearance, Cleveland Police issued a statement saying Daniel "is believed to have links to the North Yorkshire area, including Whitby, Carlisle, St Helens and Merseyside".

Gee was captured on CCTV released by Cleveland Police at the hospital station at 11:50am on Tuesday, May 28, where he is believed to have boarded a train to Middlesbrough at 1:27pm.

Investigators now also have CCTV footage, showing runaway Gee boarding the 2.16pm train from Darlington to Liverpool Lime Street on Tuesday, May 28. It is unknown at the moment at which stop he got off the train.

A spokesperson for the force added: "Anyone who may have seen Daniel Gee or may know his current whereabouts is asked to call Cleveland Police on 101, quoting reference number 098852."

Daniel Gee has been sentenced to imprisonment after he conspired to arm himself following death threats made to 16 year old gunman Jamie Starkey. Gee sustained serious injuries when Starkey shot him outside an Anfield pub, with one bullet piercing his stomach and lung before exiting his back.

Despite being in severe pain and trauma from Starkey's "murderous and unprovoked" assault, Gee refused hospital treatment. At a trial in October 2009, he was convicted of two counts of threats to kill and two counts of blackmail.

The jury could not reach a verdict on the more severe charges of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to possess firearms and ammunition. However, as his second trial approached, Gee, previously of Maryport Close, Everton, pleaded guilty to the latter charge. Prosecutor Ian Unsworth KC commented that Gee's thirst for vengeance "knew no bounds".

During the trial, Gee's defence counsel contended that his client was "frankly terrified" of an indeterminate sentence and had only planned to arm himself due to fears of another clash with the Starkey family. It was also mentioned that Gee felt targeted because of his notorious family name and was particularly afraid of an indefinite sentence, believing he would never be set free.

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The then Recorder of Liverpool, Judge Henry Globe KC, expressed his concerns about the threat posed by the individual, stating: "I am in no doubt that the public must be protected from you in the future. I really do not know when it will be safe to release you."

The man in question, Starkey, was tragically gunned down outside his home on December 2, 2012. Despite the arrest of five individuals and the recovery of the firearm used, the case remains unsolved with no convictions for his murder.

On a recent episode of the Criminal Connection Podcast, Darren, now an anti-knife crime advocate following his own incarceration for orchestrating a murder amid gang conflicts, commented on another's disappearance, saying: "I am hoping it's a planned abscond. If it's an emotional abscond, it's going to go wrong. If it's planned then hopefully he is out the country."

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