June 1, 2022 9.30 am This story is over 21 months old

Boston MP calls for answers after another abscond from HMP North Sea Camp

A convicted sex offender absconded from the open prison

Boston MP Matt Warman (right) voiced his concerns after another prisoner - convicted sex offender Gary Butcher (left) - absconded from HMP North Sea Camp near Boston.

Boston MP Matt Warman said he will be “requiring answers from ministers, the Parole Board and others on how this latest failure has now occurred” after convicted sex offender Gary Butcher absconded from HMP North Sea Camp.

Butcher, 55, who was serving a life sentence for aggravated burglary, was reported missing from HMP North Sea Camp near Boston just after 5.30am on Tuesday, May 31.

Police said Butcher, who has a swallow tattoo on his right arm and a ‘Phillip-Trina’ tattoo on his left arm, may have travelled to the Leicestershire area.

The force urged people not to approach him and instead call 101 quoting incident 37 of May 31 if he is seen.

This is not the first abscond from HMP North Sea Camp in 2022 either. Earlier this year there were at least two absconds, including sex offender Paul Robson.  Over 100 prisoners absconded from the open prison in the last decade.

Robson, 56, spent four days on the run after fleeing from the open prison in Lincolnshire near Boston, leaving a makeshift dummy in his bed.

Robson had been given a life sentence in 2000 after he sexually assaulted a woman at knifepoint and ordered to serve a minimum of 18 years imprisonment which was endorsed by both the Lord Chief Justice and Home Secretary.

He disappeared on February 12 before being arrested in Skegness on February 17, and he was then given an eight-month jail term.

Matt Warman, who is the MP for Boston and Skegness, was frustrated by the latest abscond and overall situation.

In a social media post he said: “News of another escape from North Sea Camp is deeply concerning for local people – yet again it shows that the wrong people are being sent to the prison.

“After the escape of Paul Robson just a few months ago, I was assured that the system had already been changed to tighten up which prisoners were moved to open conditions.

“I’ll be requiring answers from ministers, the Parole Board and others on how this latest failure has now occurred.

“If you have any information that could be of use to the police, please do follow the guidance below. My thanks to all the local authorities who are now seeking to rectify this situation.”