- John Massey, 64, has escaped from custody THREE times
- He was jailed for 20 years in 1975 - but went on the run in 1994
- Massey was released but jailed again after breaking terms of his release to visit his dying father
- Police warn public to stay away from 'potentially dangerous' man
- He fled Pentonville Prison in north London yesterday evening
- Massey shot bouncer Charlie Higgins dead outside a pub in Hackney, east London, in 1975 in a 'drunken moment of madness'
By Rob Cooper
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On the run: Murder convict John Massey escaped from Pentonville Prison yesterday
A convicted murderer is believed to have hidden in the roof of a prison before escaping over a wall with a rope made from bedsheets.
John Massey, 64, is thought to have gone to the gym at Pentonville Prison before sneaking into the roof where he waited to make his get-away.
The killer, branded 'potentially dangerous' by police, has escaped from prison twice before since being jailed for shooting a bouncer outside a club in east London 37 years ago.
The Ministry of Justice refused to comment on how Massey escaped from the prison in Islington, north London, last night.
He was reported missing at 6.30pm - although it remains unclear when he was last seen by prison service staff.
A major manhunt is underway today for the killer, one of Britain's longest serving prisoners.
Police last night carried out door-to-door enquiries in an attempt to find out where he had gone.
Pentonville was described by prison inspectors as one of Britain's most challenging jails to run last year, but the inspection also found 'no obvious problems with physical security'.
The Ministry of Justice said today they had launched an investigation into the escape from the jail which holds up to 1,250 Category B and C prisoners.
Scotland Yard have advised members of the public not to approach Massey and instead call 999 if he is spotted.
He was ordered to serve 20 years behind bars when he was jailed for life for the 1975 shotgun murder of Charlie Higgins, 36, in Hackney with a sawn-off shotgun.
Friends have described the revenge killing as a 'moment of drunken madness'.
Lifer: Massey was jailed in 1976 for murdering a bouncer outside an Essex club after a drunken row
Daring: Massey apparently climbed over a wall at Pentonville Prison using a makeshift rope, it was revealed today
THE NOTORIOUS INMATES OF PENTONVILLE PRISON
Pentonville Prison has held some notorious inmates down the years.
The jail houses Category B and C prisoners - and not the most serious Category A cases.
Oscar Wilde spent time inside Pentonville before being transferred to Wandsworth in the late 19th century.
More recently, Pete Doherty (below) spent six weeks inside for possessing cocaine last year, while Boy George and George Michael have also been held there.
In 2008, Blake Fielder-Civil, Amy Winehouse's then husband, was jailed at Pentonville for causing grievous bodily harm.
The prison, in Islington, north London, holds up to 1,250 inmates and has been used since 1842.
Convicted arsonist Julien Chautard escaped from Pentonville by clinging to the underside of the security van he arrived in three years ago.
Massey, who was then a carpenter, killed the doorman because he and two friends had been thrown out of the pub following a fight.
Terence Harper, 29, was also jailed after a jury at the Central Criminal Court found both men guilty of murder.
After 18 years behind bars, the killer escaped in 1994 while on a home visit with a prison guard.
Massey went on the run and spent three years in Spain before he was put back in prison.
He was eventually let out in June 2007 to live in a bail hostel in Streatham, south London, and got a job as a shop fitter.
He wanted to live with his sister in north London - but was forced to live in the bail hostel which he found more restrictive than his prison cell. He also had to be back each night.
But in order to visit his dying father Jack, 82, in Kentish Town, he breached the terms of his release in November of the same year.
He stayed with his father for four days until his death but he was forced to give himself up after armed police hunted him down. Prison officers refused to give him permission to attend his father's funeral days later.
In May 2010 he walked out of Ford open prison, West Sussex, to be with his seriously ill sister Carol.
He was refused permission to leave the prison temporarily on licence - and was told he could not be taken to visit her in hospital because the staff were not available.
In an interview with the Guardian earlier this year, he said: 'In desperation, I walked out and went straight to the hospital – ironically, the same one where my dad had died.'
She died two weeks later, but rather than hand himself in he went to live with his 85-year-old mother Carol in Camden, London.
It took police ten months to find him living in his mother's home.
Following his second escape he was put in Pentonville Prison and he has now got out for a third time.
In the interview, he said he did not understand why he was in prison 37 years after the killing of a club doorman.
'How are the public in danger of me? I did not commit any crime in the time I was free and my mother's neighbours know and respect me and say I was an asset to the community.'
A Prison Service spokesperson said: 'At approximately 6.30pm on Wednesday 27 June a prisoner was found to be missing from HMP Pentonville.
Murder scene: The Cricketers pub in Hackney, east London where John Massey, now 64, shot dead bouncer Charlie Higgins, 36, in a revenge killing in 1975
'Police were immediately informed and the matter will be the subject of a thorough investigation.'
A police spokesman said: 'Police are appealing for help in tracing a convicted murderer who has escaped from HMP Pentonville.
'He is considered potentially dangerous and should not be approached by the public if he is seen.'
In 2009 a convicted arsonist escaped from Pentonville by clinging to the underside of a security van.
Julien Chautard was sentenced to seven years in jail at Snaresbrook Crown Court in February 2009, but spent just minutes inside Pentonville before slipping out underneath the van he had arrived in.
::Anyone with information of Massey's whereabouts is asked to call Islington Police on 020 7421 0296, or people can inform Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
He has served longer than Myra Hindley !!! - Jackie , London, UK, 28/6/2012 15:16 What's that got to do with it? Myra Hindley wasn't released, she only stopped serving her sentence because she died!
- Chris, Lichfield, 28/6/2012 17:50
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