The grieving family of a murdered prison officer has launched a searing indictment of the prison service, claiming catastrophic failures and a toxic culture of silence led directly to his assassination on a British street.
Raphael 'Raph' Hostey, a 25-year-old officer at HMP Manchester, was brutally executed in a targeted shooting in October 2022. His family now reveals they believe his death was a direct reprisal for his attempts to expose a dangerous and illicit relationship between a female colleague and a notorious inmate.
A Culture of Fear and Negligence
In an emotional and powerful statement, Raph's family detailed how he had repeatedly raised the alarm about the affair, which involved a high-risk prisoner. They assert that his concerns were not just ignored but that reporting them made him a target. The very system designed to protect its staff had, in their view, utterly failed him.
The Affair That Cost a Life
The colleague at the centre of the scandal, married prison officer Lindsay Weston, was subsequently jailed for her relationship with the inmate. However, Raph's family contends that the disciplinary action came too late. They believe knowledge of the affair spread within the prison's criminal network, ultimately putting a price on their son's head for being a 'grass'.
A Call for Justice and Reform
'He was failed in the most devastating way possible,' the family's statement read. They are now demanding a full, transparent inquiry into the events leading to Raph's death, arguing that it points to a much wider problem of intimidation and mismanagement within the UK's prison system. Their tragedy underscores the very real and often deadly dangers faced by correctional officers.
