Revealed: Ex-con who received £5.5m compensation after developing 'kitchen phobia' following prison canteen attack has been jailed for burglary with sledgehammer and axe

A former prisoner who received £5.5 million compensation from the Ministry of Justice after developing a phobia of kitchens after being stabbed 16 times in the prison canteen has been sentenced to prison for a burglary involving a sledgehammer and an axe.

Steven Wilson, 36, suffered injuries including a ruptured liver, fractured spine and spinal cord injury when convicted murderer Patrick Chandler attacked him “out of the blue” with a 9-inch knife while they were both working in the kitchen at HMP Chelmsford in July 2018.

He later filed suit, claiming that the Justice Department had failed to adequately assess whether Chandler, a violent lifer, was safe to work in the kitchen, given his potential access to knives and sharp objects.

The Ministry of Justice admitted responsibility for the attack and agreed that Wilson was entitled to compensation, but argued that because of a 20-year criminal record and “virtually no history” of earning a penny honestly, he should not receive the more than £5 million in damages sought.

At the time of the attack, Wilson was in custody for aggravated burglary and unauthorized theft of a motor vehicle, for which he was later sentenced to six and a half years in prison.

Wilson suffered injuries including a lacerated liver, fractured spine and spinal cord injury when convicted murderer Patrick Chandler (above) attacked him “out of the blue.”

At the time of the attack, Wilson was in custody for aggravated burglary and unauthorized theft of a motor vehicle, for which he was later sentenced to six and a half years in prison. Pictured: Wilson's police photo from this conviction

One of Wilson's accomplices, 42-year-old Angela Holland, was sentenced to four years in prison for aggravated burglary and unauthorized theft of a motor vehicle.

Amadu Gbla, 35, was sentenced to six years in prison for aggravated burglary and unauthorized theft of a motor vehicle.

Wilson and his two accomplices, Amadu Gbla, 35, and Angela Holland, 42, threw an object through a man's window in Claton, Essex, between 4am and 6am on 8 December 2017.

They entered the man's property, threatened him with a sledgehammer and an axe, demanded that he hand over items and his card PIN number, and hit him with the handle of the axe before driving away in his car.

They took the man's electronic and audio equipment, cash and a wallet and left him with cuts and bruises.

Wilson received six and a half years, Gbla six years and Holland four years after they were all found guilty of aggravated burglary and unauthorized taking of a motor vehicle.

Six years later, Judge Melissa Clarke awarded Wilson almost £5.5 million in compensation this morning in the High Court and ordered the State to pay his legal costs of £546,000.

The government's lawyers had argued that a payout of several million pounds would be “not in line with what society would consider fair” because 36-year-old burglar Steven Wilson had “hardly ever” earned an honest penny in his life.

At the time, his attacker Chandler had only served 24 days of his life sentence for the brutal knife murder of 45-year-old John Comer in Lawford, Essex, in December 2017.

The once “fit and fearless” Wilson recalled that Chandler “looked at him strangely” before he started, as if he “saw right through him.”

He was stabbed in the stomach with such force that he was lifted up, but survived with a number of serious injuries and remained confined to a wheelchair.

Chandler later admitted to the attempted murder of Wilson and was sentenced in November 2018 to an additional life sentence and a minimum term of ten years.

Steven Wilson (pictured holding an umbrella) was confined to a wheelchair and “unfit for work” after being stabbed 16 times while working in a prison canteen

John Comer, 46, died in hospital after Chandler was stabbed in the chest and abdomen in Lawford, Essex, in December 2017

Wilson was attacked “out of the blue” with a 9-inch knife in July 2018 while they were both working in the kitchen at HMP Chelmsford.

According to court documents, Chandler's overall risk was rated “medium” by the Justice Department, even though he allegedly told his supervisor two weeks before the attack that he had “fantasized about violence and what he would do to people and about making weapons.”

Wilson's barrister, Giles Mooney KC, told the judge that after leaving the operating table he was hospitalised for over two months and required to use a wheelchair.

He now relies on a cane, suffers from chronic pain and is unable to work due to the consequences of his stroke.

During his testimony, Wilson told the judge: “I went in a perfectly healthy young man and came out in a wheelchair.”

He said the attack still haunts him, that he has a deep aversion to knives and now tries to avoid going into the kitchen at all costs.

“When I see knives, I get chills,” he said on the witness stand. “You don't understand the goose bumps I get when I see a knife.”

“I can't be in the kitchen or near knives because it reminds me of the attack.”

His ordeal also triggered flashbacks, PTSD and nightmares, he said in court: “When I came out, I saw this man over and over again.”

“I knew he was behind bars, but I kept seeing him. I dreamed he was chasing me and I woke up drenched in sweat.”

During the trial of the case, Ministry of Justice barrister Richard Wheeler KC told the judge: “The defendant accepts that the plaintiff must be compensated for his injuries but that compensation must be fair, reasonable and just,” adding that Wilson had a long criminal record including offences related to criminal damage, theft, driving, breaching community orders and violence.

Although he once claimed to have earned £800 a week before his imprisonment, he provided “no evidence whatsoever” of how he did it, the lawyer said.

“The defendant submits that the plaintiff's background is relevant to the assessment of damages and the balancing of achieving fair compensation for the plaintiff and an outcome that is not inconsistent with what society would consider fair given the plaintiff's background and lifestyle prior to the assault.”

The Justice Department argued that Wilson's condition had improved since the attack and that he no longer required the level of care he claimed.

However, Mr Mooney insisted that the Justice Department had “seriously understated” the claim and that he deserved the compensation sought.

“It is fully recognised that Mr Wilson had a somewhat problematic and criminal past prior to the attack on him,” he told the judge.

“However, the attack has left him with very serious injuries. He requires extensive care, therapy and accommodation.”

Delivering judgment this morning, Judge Clarke said that some of the experts appointed by the Government's legal team had “deviated from their initial fair and independent approach to Mr Wilson's case” during the trial.

One expert was accused of cherry-picking video surveillance evidence, while another “lost sight of the fact that his first duty was to the court and actively sought to persuade the court to award lower damages,” the judge said.

“I have asked that the government's legal department conduct an introspection on this matter and that the experts be asked to move away from a more partisan and unfair analysis,” she said.

“As far as I know, the government's legal department has now undertaken such an introspection, so I will not comment further on it.”

It awarded compensation of almost £5.5 million, plus Wilson's legal fees of £546,030.99.

The judge ordered the government to pay £400,000 in advance towards legal costs.