Kerri Pegg helped jailed gang boss gain favours and day release while hiding a secret affair

A senior prison governor once hailed as a “rising star” in the Prison Service has been found guilty of misconduct after entering a secret affair with a Liverpool gang boss she was meant to oversee behind bars.

Kerri Pegg, 42, stood accused of abusing her position at HMP Kirkham in Lancashire to assist convicted drug dealer Anthony Saunderson, who was serving a 10-year sentence for trafficking amphetamines. A jury at Preston Crown Court convicted her of two counts of misconduct in public office and one count of possessing criminal property.

Once tipped for the top, Pegg’s fall from grace began with a relationship prosecutors described as “deeply inappropriate.” She authorised Saunderson’s temporary release from prison in 2018—despite lacking the authority to do so—and concealed her financial troubles, making her vulnerable to corruption.

Police later discovered a toothbrush and Hugo Boss flip-flops bearing Saunderson’s DNA in Pegg’s home in Orrell, Wigan. They also found she had accepted a £12,000 Mercedes C-class from the gangster—paid for with drug money linked to 34 kilos of amphetamines.

Despite earning £3,000 a month, Pegg was drowning in debt. Her four credit cards were maxed out, she had just 6p in her savings, and she failed to declare three County Court judgments—an omission which itself breached Prison Service rules.

The courtroom heard how Saunderson operated under aliases taken from TV anti-heroes, calling himself Jesse Pinkman and James Gandolfini in messages to fellow criminals. Behind bars, he ran a rehabilitation programme called BADD (Beating Alcohol and Drug Dependency), which Pegg claimed explained their frequent contact.

But jurors didn’t buy the excuse. Evidence showed Pegg spent increasing amounts of time with Saunderson as his sentence drew to a close. Even members of his own gang complained he was spending “too much time” with her, rather than his wife or criminal enterprise.

When officers raided Pegg’s property, they uncovered designer clothes, Chanel jewellery, and Jimmy Choo shoes—purchases far beyond the means of a struggling civil servant. Her extravagant lifestyle and hidden debt, the Crown argued, made her susceptible to manipulation by an inmate well-versed in deception.

The defence portrayed Pegg as naïve rather than corrupt. Tearfully testifying in her own defence, she admitted to being “hands-on” and “stupid” in her dealings with Saunderson but denied any wrongdoing. Her barrister claimed she had been “misguided,” not malicious.

Still, Judge Graham Knowles KC gave no indication of leniency, stating Pegg would receive a custodial sentence: “I have no choice but to send you to prison due to the gravity of your offending.”

Outside the courtroom, the Crown Prosecution Service’s Tarryn McCaffrey described Pegg’s actions as a gross betrayal of public trust. “She was clearly involved in an inappropriate relationship with Saunderson,” McCaffrey said. “This relationship, and the fact Pegg failed to disclose her debts, are extremely damaging to public confidence.”

Saunderson, a key figure in a Liverpool crime syndicate, continued to run an amphetamine factory even while promoting anti-drug programmes in jail. His manipulation of prison systems—and the governor herself—has sparked renewed concerns about corruption vulnerabilities within the UK’s prison estates.

No date has yet been set for Pegg’s sentencing, but her career in criminal justice is over. A once-promising official now faces time behind the very bars she once commanded.