Former jail governor warns Jamie Varley has nowhere to cover regardless of ‘identify change’
Former governor of HMP Wormwood Scrubs Vanessa Frake has responded to reports that Preston Davey’s killer Jamie Varley has changed his name to give him more anonymity
Jamie Varley is serving a whole life order (Image: Lancashire Police/PA Wire)
A former prison governor has warned Jamie Varley that he will never go under the radar behind bars — despite reports suggesting he had changed his name to help do just that.
Varley, 37, is serving a whole life order for the murder of 13-month-old Preston Davey who he spent months abusing before the tot’s death.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the former schoolteacher had applied to change his name by deed poll to Harry Jae Robb, as revealed in the Daily Mail. A source told them: “He has changed his name to Harry Jae Robb in the hope of giving himself anonymity.
“He’s absolutely petrified. There have already been threats against him and he thinks that by changing his name, people are less likely to recognise him and know who he is.
Vanessa Frake-Harris MBE started her career in the prison service at the now-defunct HMP Holloway
(Image: Getty Images)
“He knows he has a huge target on his back and he thinks his new name will make him safer and will help him escape vigilante attacks.”
However, Vanessa Frake MBE, who worked at the now defunct HMP Holloway before being head of security and operations at HMP Wormwood Scrubs, believes this may have been a “waste of money”.
She made the comments on the Break The Ice channel where the presenter asked her: “Can you reassure those who watch this channel who want Varley to be very well known in prison — do prisoners have access to the news, thus being able to identify him and being able to be aware of who he is?”
In response, she said: “Every prisoner in a prison has a TV unless you are on basic, because a TV is not a right, it’s a privilege. So unless you are on basic, you would have a TV.
“Some prisons have Sky TV which has numerous channels, not adult channels I hasten to add, but yeah, without a doubt it has all the news channels.
An inquest into the death on Preston Davey is ‘likely to be held’(Image: Lancashire Police/PA Wire)
“Trust me now — they will be well aware of where he is and who he is.”
The host then said that will be “music to the ears” of listeners who will want to know that Varley is not having an easy time in prison after what he did to Preston, the little boy he adopted just four months before killing him.
Vanessa meanwhile said it is possible to change your name from prison and you only had to look at Charles Bronson whose legal name by deed poll is now Charles Salvador.
It cost just £53.05 to change your name and Vannessa said a prison governor, or perhaps someone in the Ministry of Justice, would have to grant approval.
However, she stressed that the prison Varley is in will have to go by whatever name was on his warrant, which would be his usual name.
And as for whether Varley is now referring to himself as Harry Jae Robb, she added: “It’s interesting that if he’s changed his name, his name has already got out. So it is like, well that was a waste of money.
“And are you going to change it again? So it’s very interesting.”
Varley will spend the rest of his days locked up for murdering Preston who was found to have 40 internal and external injuries.
This was discovered after he was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital on July 27, 2023, when Varley claimed to have found the boy submerged in bath water.
At the hospital, Preston was tragically pronounced dead.
Varley’s boyfriend meanwhile, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, was handed 25 years for his part in the abuse of Preston.
