Gangster's Son Films Jail Raves on TikTok, Victim's Family Slams Justice System
The son of a notorious Scottish gangland boss, convicted of murder, has brazenly filmed himself hosting raves and taking drugs inside UK prisons, posting the footage on TikTok. Under the username 'HMP Ghost', Ben McCulloch uploads videos to his account, which boasts 2,500 followers, showcasing a party lifestyle behind bars. The family of his murder victim has condemned the justice system, calling the videos 'torture'.
Inside HMP Addiewell: A Lawless Playground
Ben McCulloch, a 31-year-old inmate at HMP Addiewell in West Lothian, Scotland, has shared videos that boast of 'jail hooch' parties, consumption of 'Spice' (a synthetic drug), and watching football matches on widescreen TVs while drinking alcohol. In one clip, he films himself topless in a packed cell, dancing with other inmates, with captions like '#hmpaddiewell #whosaysjailwizhard #theboys #scottishjail'. Another video pans to an unconscious inmate having his head shaved, with McCulloch calling him an 'ugly f*****'. He also recorded a gang tying up an inmate who appears high on drugs, dragging him out of his cell by his arms and legs.
The captions on these videos include phrases such as 'whosaysjailwizhard', '#hmpaddiewell', '#vodie', and '#party24_7'. In one instance, McCulloch and his friends shout, 'Who said they think jail is hard?!', mocking the notion of prison as a place of punishment. The videos also show inmates rapping along to drill music in rooms equipped with stereos and designer shoes, using illegal mobile phones to film their activities. In a particularly disturbing scene, they laugh while setting fire to a tissue stuck up a sleeping inmate's nose, and other clips appear to show them smoking cigars.
Family's Anguish and Calls for Action
The family of Stephen Quigley, who was stabbed to death by McCulloch in 2021 and left to die on the street, has expressed deep distress over the videos. Stephen's mother, Katie Quigley, described them as 'torture' and demanded a clampdown on what she calls a lawless prison. She stated, 'Ben McCulloch killed my boy, who was meant to be his best friend. His lawyer told the court that he was full of remorse, but he has not one shred of remorse. If he did, how could he be posting videos about having 24-hour parties?'
Ms Quigley added to the Daily Record, 'I had to identify my dead son, and that awful day will stay with me for as long as I am alive. Is it too much to ask for prisons to stop these gangsters reminding the families of all the people they have killed or victimised that they are running the jails?' She emphasized that the situation is 'out of control', pointing to cells full of drunk men with internet access as evidence of a complete 'lack of remorse'.
Scandals at HMP Addiewell and Wider Issues
HMP Addiewell is Scotland's only privately-run prison, a Category A facility holding around 800 male prisoners. It has been at the centre of numerous scandals in recent years. In December, the Mail on Sunday revealed that over the past decade, the prison accidentally released 10 violent prisoners, who roamed free for up to a year. In 2021, an inmate filmed himself kissing a female prison officer, and staff have reported facing 'unprecedented threats' from inmates.
This issue of 'TikTok prisoners' is not isolated to HMP Addiewell. A brief search on the platform by the Daily Mail found 15 accounts that appear to be run by UK prisoners from their jail cells, many featuring party scenes. The Daily Mail has contacted HMP Addiewell for comment, but no response has been reported yet.
The videos highlight systemic failures in prison security and management, raising questions about how inmates are able to access mobile phones and the internet to flout rules. As the justice system faces scrutiny, families of victims like the Quigleys are left grappling with the emotional toll of seeing their loved ones' killers live it up behind bars.
