The eventual downfall of a corrupt prison governor

Kerri Pegg was considered a 'rising star' within the Prison Service before she become embroiled with gangland boss Anthony Saunderson.

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Married at 26 and divorced four years later, after her husband's building and renovations firm went bust, she left her job with the Probation Service for a new challenge, quickly climbing the career ladder from graduate entrant to prison governor in six years

Pegg joined the Prison Service in 2012 as a graduate entrant, working at prisons including Risley, Liverpool and Styal, and by April 2018 she was a governor at HMP Kirkham, where Saunderson was reaching the end of a 10-year sentence for drugs offences.

He had been one of Merseyside's most wanted fugitives for his part in importing £19m worth of cocaine in shipments of corned beef from Argentina.

Saunderson was known to criminal associates as 'Jesse Pinkman', after the drug dealer in Breaking Bad, or 'James Gandolfini', the actor who played Tony Soprano in the mafia TV series.

From the start of her time at the jail, there were concerns about Pegg being inappropriately close to Saunderson, with the two often being in her office with the door closed.

During her trial at Preston Crown Court, the 42-year-old told jurors there were "cultural issues" at the jail and clashed with bosses over her "progressive" and "hands-on" open-door policy with prisoners.

In October 2018, Saunderson put in a release on temporary licence (ROTL) request which Pegg signed off, though she did not have the authority to do so.

Saunderson was released from Kirkham in May 2019 and within two months, while still on licence, was involved in another massive drug conspiracy.