Ian Brady photo deal: Security officer found guilty

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-32937299

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A security officer has been convicted of smuggling a camera into a high-security psychiatric hospital to try to sell photos of serial killer Ian Brady.

Alan Hagan, 48, was on trial over his dealings with News of the World reporter Lucy Panton while he worked at Ashworth Hospital, on Merseyside.

At the Old Bailey, he denied any wrong-doing but was found guilty of misconduct in a public office.

Hagan, of Galston Close, Liverpool, will be sentenced on 26 June.

The court heard Hagan was paid £1,000 for a story headlined "Suicide Brady hid pills in his sock" in February 2008, shortly after he first made contact with Ms Panton.

The court heard Hagan, who wanted to take "revenge" on bosses for his treatment as an employee, discussed payment of £50,000 for the images.

Even though he did manage to smuggle a camera into the hospital, the resulting pictures were not good enough quality and they were not published.

'The project'

Brady, 77, who has been a patient at Ashworth since 1985, became notorious for torturing and murdering five children with Myra Hindley, who died in prison in 2002.

He was jailed for three murders in 1966. The pair later confessed to another two murders.

In April 2008, an attempt by Hagan to smuggle a camera into the hospital inside a belt failed, the court heard.

Later that year, Ms Panton emailed her boss about meeting her Brady contact in Liverpool, telling him: "Meet Friday, it looks like there will be an opportunity to get the project back on."

By October, Hagan had a new piece of kit enabling him to take pictures and video inside the secure hospital. The jury was told the quality of the images were not good enough for the newspaper.

Prosecutor Mark Trafford QC said Hagan first approached the newspaper because he was "disgruntled" with his employer and believed he had been "badly treated" by management.

He said: "His revenge, and his road to seek large sums of money, was to seek to sell pictures to the media. He had the position and the opportunity.

"He had seen and worked near people whose faces, whose crimes and whose past were known to many members of the public."

Mr Trafford added Hagan knew the move was "not just forbidden" but "helped undermine all efforts" to run a secure hospital.