Brockwell escape was aided by four people, say gardaí

Gardaí now suspect four people were involved in the escape of Derek Brockwell from custody at Tallaght Hospital two weeks ago.

Further details of the escape emerged yesterday after detectives questioned an inmate in Portlaoise Prison and arrested his parents, both aged in their 60s, at their home in Co Meath.

Investigating officers believe a fourth — as yet unidentified — person was also involved in the escape on February 17. This person drove the motorbike that picked up Brockwell, 53, at the hospital after he assaulted his two prison officers — slicing open one of their stomachs — and fled.

However, gardaí have established that the bike only sped a short distance to a car, which Brockwell took across the border.

The Scottish criminal —who was on the run here from a life sentence for armed robbery in England —was confronted by the PSNI outside a pub in Belfast on February 18.

He was armed with a knife and was reportedly injuring himself when officers used a Taser to incapacitate him. Brockwell, who was serving seven years for armed robbery, was brought to hospital in a serious condition.

It was the end of two days of drama that began when two prison officers took him to a toilet in Tallaght Hospital to give a urine sample for his scheduled diabetes test.

He accessed a knife in the toilets and, when one of the officers tried to stop him, he “cut open” his stomach. A second officer received injuries to his back and hand.

Brockwell fled the hospital to where a man was waiting for him on a motorbike.

However, following a detailed inquiry by gardaí, including an examination of all the cameras at the hospital and in the area, Brockwell was seen being transferred from the motorbike to a car.

Detectives believe the inmate arrested yesterday, who is serving time for armed robbery, was friendly with Brockwell and aided his escape. They discovered the inmate’s mother knew of the plan and that his father was driving the car.

The car was captured on CCTV and on Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras as it travelled to Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, where Brockwell got out. He went to Belfast the next day. There he carried out a robbery spree with the intention, gardaí believe, of getting a ferry to Scotland.

Gardaí are likely to send a file to the DPP as they await some evidence to be transferred through official channels by the PSNI.

Meanwhile, the Prison Officers’ Association will meet Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald next Wednesday to call for an external inquiry into the escape and to repeat demands for protective equipment, such as anti-stab vests, incapacitant sprays, and extendable batons.

Separately, two prison officers were assaulted during a cell search in Mountjoy Prison yesterday by an inmate with a sweeping brush.