.svg)
Two prisoners have formally denied attempting to murder convicted child killer Urfan Sharif inside high-security prison HMP Belmarsh, entering not guilty pleas during a hearing at the Central Criminal Court. Steven Sansom, 47, and Adam Watson, 39, appeared via video link from HMP Wakefield at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, where both entered formal denials to charges of attempted murder, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and unauthorised possession of offensive weapons inside a custodial facility. The charges arise from an incident on New Year's Day 2025, merely weeks after Sharif was handed a minimum 40-year life sentence for the prolonged abuse and murder of his 10-year-old daughter, Sara Sharif.
The Crown alleges that Sansom orchestrated the attack by inviting Sharif into a cell where Watson lay in wait. Prosecutors told the court that Watson seized Sharif and struck him repeatedly with punches before Sansom placed Sharif in a chokehold, compressing his throat. According to prosecution submissions, Watson then passed an improvised cutting implement to Sansom, who made sawing motions across Sharif’s neck. Prison custodial officers intervened upon entering the cell, discovering Sharif bloodied, injured, and in acute distress with visible lacerations and blunt-force trauma to his neck, mouth, and face. Both defendants also denied possessing two prohibited weapons, specifically identified in court records as an altered tin lid and a sharpened pen fashioned to a handle.
Appearing before Judge Lynn Tayton KC, the two defendants spoke only to confirm their identities and lodge their formal pleas to the four counts on the indictment. The court fixed a provisional pre-trial preparation hearing for 21 June, with a full two-week jury trial scheduled to commence on 19 July. Both defendants were remanded in custody pending their appearance before the trial court.
Daily Dazzling Dawn learned that the Crown Prosecution Service intends to rely on institutional logs, forensic analysis of the seized makeshift weapons, and testimonies from attending custodial staff who secured the cell following the alleged assault. The defence legal teams indicated that the credibility of the sequence of events and individual participation would form key components of their contest at trial.
Sharif’s status as one of Britain’s most notorious child killers has placed His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service under heightened scrutiny regarding inmate distribution and personal protection measures. Following the New Year’s Day incident, Sharif was treated by custodial medical staff for facial and neck wounds. Daily Dazzling Dawn understands from correctional service protocols that high-profile prisoners convicted of fatal child abuse offences frequently face severe retribution from the general prison population, necessitating specific containment procedures.
Under standard custodial frameworks, inmates identified as facing imminent threats are typically transferred to Vulnerable Prisoner Units (VPUs) or placed into administrative segregation under Prison Rule 45 for their own protection. Such protocols strictly curtail association, limiting an inmate’s interaction during exercise, domestic chores, and communal transit. Given the security breach within HMP Belmarsh, both defendants were subsequently relocated to HMP Wakefield, a high-security dispersal facility equipped to house high-risk offenders away from the capital.
Sharif, a 43-year-old former taxi driver, was convicted of murder alongside his wife, 30-year-old Beinash Batool, at the Old Bailey in December. The sentencing judge, Mr Justice Cavanagh, described the treatment of 10-year-old Sara as an inconceivable campaign of torture spanning more than two years. Sara’s body was recovered by police from a bunk bed at the family’s rented property in Hammond Road, Woking, on 10 August 2023.
Pathological evidence revealed that the child had sustained 71 fresh external injuries alongside 25 fractures, severe burn marks, and human bite impressions prior to her death. Sharif fled to Islamabad, Pakistan, alongside Batool and his brother, Faisal Malik, immediately following the death, booking international flights before notifying Surrey Police via emergency telephone from abroad. The trio returned to the United Kingdom weeks later, where they were arrested upon arrival at Gatwick Airport.
During the murder trial, the court heard how Sara was subjected to beatings with cricket bats and metal conduits, bound with parcel tape, and systematically isolated from external contact. Mr Justice Cavanagh sentenced Sharif to life imprisonment with a minimum tariff of 40 years, while Batool received a life sentence with a 33-year minimum term. Sharif’s brother, Faisal Malik, was convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child and sentenced to 16 years. The broader family household had included five other children, who were taken into safeguarding care following the parents' arrest.
The trial of Sansom and Watson is due to be heard in full next summer, where central issues of prison safety, surveillance, and weapon smuggling will be examined under cross-examination.
