A site manager at Broodmoor hospital told a court today that staff were aware confidential information about the UK's most notorious inmates was being leaked to The Sun.
Lesley Langshaw said staff knew stories about Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe and Rachel Nickell's killer Robert Napper were being passed to the press.
She said workers were "disappointed" by the leaks, but added that she did not know they were coming from her base on the Dorchester Ward.
As a result, The Sun knew Napper was on suicide watch, the court heard.
Sutcliffe and Napper were based on the Dorchester Ward, which houses approximately 30 inmates.
A healthcare worker from Broadmoor, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is said to have leaked information to reporters at The Sun.
Napper killed Samantha Bisset and her daughter Jazmine in 1993, and was convicted of the manslaughter of Rachell Nickell in 2008, 16 years after her death.
In late December 2007 The Sun ran a story on Napper, "Rachel 'killer' put on suicide watch", by Jamie Pyatt.
It noted that a source from inside Broadmoor had said Napper had taken an overdose in the past, and was on "level-four" suicide watch.
Peter Wright QC, prosecuting, asked Langshaw: "Are you aware of there being contact with the press during your time on the Dorchester Ward?"
Ms Langshaw acknowledged she was.
"In respect of certain prisoners… in respect of Peter Sutcliffe and Robert Napper?" Wright asked.
"Yes," Langshaw replied.
"I knew about it at the time I was working on the ward.
"I was aware of the articles in the newspapers. It was difficult to understand why somebody would disclose information about our patients.
"The effect on staff was people began wondering who the information had come from – I don't think we knew who it was.
"The staff were disappointed and upset because they started feeling like they were being blamed."
Patients at Broadmoor have access to newspapers, and staff would strive to keep negative stories from them, Langshaw explained.
"We considered Peter Sutcliffe as very, extremely vulnerable," she added.
"There was a risk to him from other patients, a risk of harming him.
"Patient records were held in the nursing station, in filing cabinets.
"All nurses working on the ward, psychologists, therapist and healthcare assistants, had access to the records.
"The cabinet was not locked, the office door would be locked but everybody had access to the office.
"It takes a long time to build a therapeutic relationship with any patient, and could have easily been broken.
"Staff wouldn't want to work with colleagues they couldn't trust."
The trial continues tomorrow.
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