MURDERER POSTS PHOTOS OF BIRTHDAY CAKE AND KEBAB HE HAD DELIVERED TO HIS PRISON CELL ON FACEBOOK

A convicted murderer is under investigation for posting photos on Facebook of a superhero-themed birthday cake he had delivered to his cell.

Officers at Britain’s biggest prison were last night looking into how Liam Whitnell – who is serving a life sentence – was able to access social media and post photos showing his 31st birthday celebrations.

Whitnell reportedly uploaded several photos while in high-security Wandsworth prison – including one showing a takeaway kebab and another of three fellow inmates posing with their smartphones.

In photos posted on Facebook, killer Liam Whitnell is pictured lounging in his cell and speaking on the phone

Another picture shows a kebab and soft drink which have apparently been delivered to the jail, next to what appears to be cannabis, believed to have been smuggled into the prison

Inmates at Wandsworth Prison are also pictured flouting rules forbidding mobile phones in jail

Entrance of the Prison

Whitnell reportedly captioned the photo of the cake decorated with portraits of Avengers superheroes: ‘B.day cake from da boys.’ In reply to a friend who said they wanted to eat some, he said: ‘Its a good time cuz.’

Other photos showed a games console and a bottle of Coke.

Phones are banned behind bars, although there is a black market trade in the devices in most prisons.

British prisons use a range of searching and security measures to detect items of contraband such as intelligence-led searches, body searches, X-ray machines, metal detectors and CCTV surveillance, as well as body scanners.

Prisoners who break the rules can be stripped of privileges and could face further disciplinary action. The Prison Service also has an agreement with Facebook to close down accounts being updated by or on behalf of serving prisoners.

In 2011, Whitnell and three accomplices stabbed 24-year-old Kowshar Hussain to death as he was retrieving a baby seat from a car in London. Mr Hussain was collecting the seat on behalf of a friend who had been involved in a scuffle with the men and was afraid of reprisals.

He was jailed for a minimum of 24 years in 2013, with the judge telling the men: ‘This is another London street stabbing of a totally innocent family man who was mindlessly murdered by the four of you.’

Last night the sister of Whitnell’s victim told the Sun: ‘He can never celebrate his birthday or have a kebab again.’

A Prison Service spokesperson said: ‘No prisoner should be in any doubt that if they break the rules they will be stripped of their privileges and could face further disciplinary action. These claims are being investigated as a matter of urgency.’

It is understood four inmates at the 153-year-old prison – including Whitnell - have been moved to the segregation unit for accessing social media.

Earlier this year, figures showed that over-crowded Wandsworth prison is running at 169 per cent capacity - with 654 more inmates than its 943 capacity. 

The prison's most recent inspection found that 13 per cent of random drug tests came back positive with cannabis and tranquilizers the drugs most commonly found to have been used.

The report also stated that two thirds of those suspected of drug-taking could not be tested due to insufficient staff.