Prison officers who both had illicit affairs with brothers serving time for running multi-million pound drugs operation are jailed themselves

Two prison officers, Jai Gascoyne, 25, and Elle Walton, 27, have been jailed after separately carrying on relationships with two brothers they were meant to be guarding at Buckley Hall Prison near Rochdale. The brothers, Dil and Haq Nawaz, were serving lengthy sentences for running a multi-million pound drugs operation, and the case has raised serious concerns about the integrity of the prison system, with the sentencing judge warning that such misconduct undermines public trust in officers' conduct.

Manchester Crown Court heard that Gascoyne began a relationship with Dil Nawaz, 30, in January 2024 and also had inappropriate contact with two other inmates, while Walton, who was friends with Gascoyne outside work, became involved with his brother Haq, 32, around the same time. Both women, who pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office, exchanged hundreds of messages, gifts, cash and matching jewellery with the brothers and were aware of their offending. Gascoyne was jailed for 16 months and Walton for 13 months; Dil and Haq Nawaz are serving 12 years and nearly 14 years respectively for heading the crime gang.