THE PRISONER who allegedly had a sexual relationship with a prison officer is a convicted double murderer who killed his girlfriend and their baby daughter.

Andrew Roberts was convicted in 2003 of strangling his girlfriend Louise L'Homme and their eight-month-old daughter Tia to death at their home in Rhondda, South Wales.

He fled the scene and was arrested five days later.

He was 22 years old when he was sentenced to two life terms at Swansea Crown Court.

He is now at the centre of a very different court case, having been serving time at HMP Isle of Wight.

Prison officer Lauren Jade McIntyre, 32, of St John's Wood Road, Ryde, is accused of having a sexual relationship with him, sanctioning the beating of a fellow officer and withholding information regarding potentially corrupt colleagues.

The indictment states she, as holder of a public office, wilfully neglected to perform her duty and wilfully misconducted herself between August 1, 2018, and December 20, 2018, at HMP Isle of Wight's Albany Prison.

While acting as a public officer, namely a prison officer, she is accused of wilfully misconducting herself in a way which amounted to an abuse of the public's trust.

She is accused of having a sexual relationship with Roberts, failing to report to the prison authorities her knowledge that he was in possession of a mobile phone, providing him with her personal mobile phone number, communicating with him via mobile phone, supplying him with a copy of her photograph, and attempting to facilitate the transfer of money from him into her bank account.

She is also accused of sanctioning the beating, by Roberts, of prison officer Samuel Laidler, providing the prisoner with the personal mobile phone number of Officer Laidler, taking no steps to warn Officer Laidler or the prison authorities of the impending beating.

Additionally, she is accused of passing information to the prisoner regarding the information she had given to the prison authorities about the alleged misconduct of other members of staff, withheld from the prison authorities information regarding potentially corrupt officers and failed to report other information.

The case is indictable only and was referred from the Isle of Wight Magistrates' Court last Tuesday, to the Isle of Wight Crown Court for a hearing on October 26.