A manhunt has been launched after a prisoner escaped from custody at HMP Wormwood Scrubs after he was taken to Hammersmith Hospital.
Graham Gomm, 63, was taken to hospital on Thursday by prison staff after being taken unwell. He had been on remand for burglary offences at the Victorian-era jail in Hammersmith.
Police were alerted at around 1.18am on Thursday that Gomm had escaped. He was last seen wearing a grey T-shirt and grey tracksuit.
Officers have visited a number of addresses linked to the prisoner, carried out searches and made CCTV enquiries.
Gomm’s escape is the latest scandal to hit the Prison Service in recent months with 5,500 prisoners being released early and jails projected to overflow by September.
It is the second time in three years that a prisoner has gone on the run from Wormwood Scrubs during a medical visit.
In 2021, Manray Woolfall fled when he was being taken to a central London hospital.
The Category B prison houses around 1,000 inmates.
A prison officer appeared in court earlier this month charged with misconduct after allegedly having sex with an inmate in a cell.
Video said to have been filmed inside HMP Wandsworth was posted online.
A high-profile alleged escape took place at the same south west London jail in September last year.
The Metropolitan Police said on Friday: “Detectives are also concerned for Gomm’s welfare as he was undergoing medical care before he escaped.
“There is nothing to suggest that Gomm is a threat to the public.”
Andy Slaughter, the Labour MP for Hammersmith, warned the Government last September to ensure lessons are swiftly learned from a series of self-harm related deaths at Wormwood over the last three years.
There have been 10 self-inflicted deaths between 2018 and 2022 according to official figures.
Then Justice minister Damian Hinds said: “I’ve visited Wormwood Scrubs myself. Rates of self-harm are unacceptably high.”
Anyone seeing Gomm is asked not to approach him but call 999.
