Shipman claims deaths 'acts of God'

Jon Harkin, a Samaritan-trained listener, who was locked up overnight with Shipman to ensure the disgraced doctor did not commit suicide, was aghast as Shipman described his murderous deeds as 'acts of God'.

Shipman has never publicly admitted his guilt, given an indication of how many people he killed or offered a motive.

But during gruelling 'listener sessions', Shipman told fellow inmate Harkin that he had taken hundreds of lives over 25 years simply because he had the power, to do so.

Harkin's account gives a disturbing insight into the mind of Shipman, who has revealed nothing to the police or authorities.

Many believe the disgraced doctor would take his secrets to the grave but Harkin has decided to break listener confidentiality in this exceptional case to share his experiences with the families of the victims.

"I have had to sit through the trial, the appeal and the inquiry knowing the terrible truth of what he told me," says Harkin, who kept suicide watch at Preston Prison where Shipman was held on remand.

"My time listening to Shipman was horrendous. I've been physically ill and my memories of being locked in a cell with him have given me many sleepless nights.

"I'm just glad he was found guilty and is unlikely to ever be released from jail.

"But I believe the families of those people he killed have a right to know what he said to me inside that prison cell."

Dame Janet Smith's Shipman Inquiry concluded in June 2002 that the family doctor from Hyde had unlawfully killed 215 people between 1975 to 1998.

After examining 2,311 witness statements she said: "I regret to say that I can shed very little light on why Shipman killed his patients."

But Harkin remembers vividly how Shipman, filled with contempt and arrogance, boastfully claimed to have taken the lives of more than 500 people.

Describing the doctor as being on a 'crazed power trip', after being formally charged with multiple murder, Shipman bragged to his fellow inmate that the actual numbers were far higher.

"He was so full of himself, so arrogant, as if he was on a pedestal, laughing at the police and the medical profession.

"I asked him why he took their lives. He kept saying that he had the power, that they were 'acts of God'. It wasn't a confession, it was more like a boast."

Harkin had taken great pride in developing the listener scheme and reducing the self-harm and suicide rate at Preston Prison.

As senior listener, he offered support in a crisis suite to more than 300 inmates and was given free access to all wings.

In October 1998 Harold Shipman arrived in Preston on remand, facing charges of murdering a woman patient in his care.

Harkin takes up the story: "I was approached by a senior officer who said they needed me to go and see an inmate who was in a distressed state.

"I was given the name Shipman, but didn't know anything about him.

"When you're in prison, inside those four walls, you lose track of what's happening outside.

"There was a suicide watch on him.

What they call a 20/52, and the officers put me in as extra protection.

"Basically, they could go and have a decent dinner and know that, because I was in a cell with him, he wasn't going to swing.

"The first time I saw him he didn't really want to talk to me. He was in a distressed state, crying, facing the wall.

"He'd come from Strangeways and didn't like being in Preston. He was worried about having fewer visits from his wife.

"I had no idea who he was. When I arrived he said he didn't want to talk to me but they slammed the door shut.

"I wasn,t going anywhere. It was a case of - if he wanted to talk, he could talk.

"It wasn't until afterwards, when officers started asking me questions and one inmate said 'That's Doctor Death', that I realized this case was very different.

"My cellmate, who read all the papers, filled me in on what he was supposed to have done.

"He stood out massively from everyone else in the prison. He was obviously a very intelligent and well-spoken man.

"One or two of the officers were getting quite nosy wanting to know the ins and outs of everything.

"I was getting dubious about some of their questions. I had worked hard to improve the credibility of the listener scheme, which would have been ruined if inmates thought we passed information onto the officers.

"We'd been trained to keep the information confidential. I tried to treat him exactly the same as other cases.

"The other listeners didn't want to go near him because he was obviously very clever, which would intimidated them.

"But I'd seen too many suicides to let someone hang or cut themselves. I've been in with other murderers and an arsonist who had taken lives. As a listener you can't be judgmental.

"I've had to think long and hard about breaching Shipman's confidentiality. But at the end of the day, we are talking about a man who is probably the world's biggest serial killer.

"A man whose actions have had a massive impact on so many families. This is an exceptional, one-off case.

"I sat in with Shipman on quite a few occasions. The more I went in with him the more he was willing to hold a conversation with me but he was very changeable.

"He was obviously very intelligent and he would sometimes use big words and talk down to me.

"He would also talk angrily about being away from his wife.

"He said he had never been separated from his wife for any length of time before.

"There was total disbelief that he was actually inside prison.

"On one occasion I was locked up all night with him in his cell.

"It was the longest night of my life. I'd begun to realise that he was like no other inmate I'd ever dealt with.

"He was very deep, very intense. He was up and down most of the night. He couldn't rest.

"He'd talk with me and then go silent for a while. I was just there with him, counting down the hours. It was very unnerving.

"I didn,t get a minute's sleep. I remember thinking that in this case I was getting out of my depth. I was so glad to get out of there.

"Over time I saw that he could be very charming and manipulative in order to get what he wanted.

"His crying bouts were always for a specific reason and he did manage to get himself certain privileges like extended visits.

"He used to kick off a lot, especially if it was to do with his wife. He talked a lot about 'My wife, my wife'. He was a very, very complex character.

"But, by far the worst time, was when he had been re-interviewed by the police and formally charged him with other murders.

"He was in a very agitated state and I was asked to stay with him.

"From the second I went in, it was obvious that he was breaking down.

"He had lost it, absolutely lost it. He was very angry and had a crazed look of power on his face.

"He was mocking the police and said that there were many more.

"He looked proud of himself as he said he,d been doing it for the last 25 years.

"'Do what?' I said and he replied, 'acts of God'.

"I knew exactly what he meant. This is when it got really scary.

"I knew that I might not be able to cope with what was going to happen.

"He said to me 508, with a look of total grandeur on his face.

"The way he was speaking was so high and mighty. He said he had been getting away with it since his Todmorden days.

"I said: 'But you haven,t got away with it, you have been found out'.

"But it was like I wasn't there. He was laughing at the police and the medical profession.

"I didn,t believe it when he said 508. I thought it was impossible for someone to take so many lives.

"I asked him the question, 'why?' and again he said, 'they were acts of God' and 'I have the power'.

"He showed no feelings towards his victims. He had no remorse at all. He was on an absolute power trip.

"It was all very intense and very frightening. Then later he sank really low and went silent.

"He didn't say anything. He pretended nothing had happened.

"It has caused me a lot of pain watching the trial, the appeal and the inquiry knowing what Shipman said in that outburst.

"But the listener scheme meant so much to me that, until now, I've kept it all to myself.

"There were always other inmates to see, other important things to get on with and I tried to bury it and put it behind me.

"If I'd passed the information on to officers, the credibility of the scheme inside the prison would have been shattered.

"But now all those families who are still wondering need to know. I think he thought I couldn't do or say anything because I was just another inmate.

"As a listener we reassure inmates that their secrets are safe.

"But I've had so many sleepless nights thinking about what he told me. I've lost weight because of it and it's taken its toll.

"That's where I think the listener scheme falls down because we need to be able to off-load some of the stuff we have to deal with.

"I can't believe he's never admitted his crimes to anyone, not even the psychologists. He opened up to me.

"He hadn't been in long and was in despair. He completely lost it. As a listener we often found that after putting a brave face on things inmates would break down.

"Maybe he told me because I wasn't someone in authority. He really got off on defying the authorities.

"Looking back now I wish I hadn't been his listener.

"I wish he hadn't told me what he did. At the time I remember thinking 'I don,t want to hear this'.

"I thought I could take it on board but I didn't know how to deal with it.

If he's mentioned on the TV or radio I switch off or leave.

"I can't take it in. It's very, very hard turning it all over in your mind.

"I've tried to put it to one side and blank it out but it has haunted me.

"I can easily picture him sat at the table, trim beard, glasses, crying his eyes out or on that power trip, so arrogant and boasting.

"He needs to admit his crimes. I don't want to bring more doubt to those families. I can only pass on what he said to me.

"He needs to make peace with himself and tell those families who have doubts in their minds.

"Even if I had to see Shipman again to try to get him to confess, I'd be willing to do it.

"Those families deserve to have some understanding about what happened to their loved ones."

Harkin has written to Dame Janet Smith, author of the Shipman Inquiry, outlining his experiences.

Mr Harkin has received no fee for this story.