Nottingham Trent allowed three convicted killers to give lectures to students

One is serving a life sentence and left prison for the day to give paid lectures to students


CW: Murder, death

Nottingham Trent allowed three convicted killers to give lectures to students.

Michael Lester was convicted of murder in 2000 before being hired by NTU in 2013 whilst convicted murderer Simon Scott is currently undertaking a funded PhD at the university. The university has most recently allowed murderer Daniel Micklethwaite onto the campus to give a lecture to students.

Murderer Michael Lester was hired by the university in 2013

Michael Lester was convicted of killing 76 year old grandmother Florence White with a knife in year 2000 in order to get cash for heroin.

The Mirror reported how Lester was then hired into a paid position by the university in 2013 into the department of criminology Professor Belinda Winder and even contributed to her upcoming book, Forensic Interventions for Therapy and Rehabilitation.

Lester, now 49, reportedly goes by a different name in his paid position at the university.

Nottingham Trent has said that Lester is employed on a “fixed-term research associate contract which ends in December”.

Simon Scott is undertaking a PhD at NTU funded by the university

The Mirror reported that Professor Belinda Winder has now been suspended from the university and facing an internal investigation after an alleged relationship with freed murderer Simon Scott, who is also associated with Nottingham Trent.

Simon Scott, 52, was jailed in 1999 for murder after beating 22 year old Swedish au pair Alexandra Carlsson to death using a frying pan before strangling her with a phone cable whilst high on cocaine, reported The Hillingdon Times. Winder is alleged to have began a romantic relationship with Scott whilst he studied a PhD in her department.

Scott began his PhD at the university, which The Mirror reported was carried out on scholarship funded by Nottingham Trent, after being freed from his life sentence for murder.

A spokesman for Nottingham Trent University said: “Mr Scott is a full-time PhD student at NTU. He is not employed as a lecturer. In the last few months Mr Scott has supported other academics in a small number of online teaching sessions as part of his PhD training.

“The University is conducting an investigation into the nature of the relationship between Prof Winder and Mr Scott and is unable to comment further at this stage.”

Daniel Micklethwaite was allowed to lecture students whilst carrying out his life sentence

The Mirror also reported h0w Professor Winder’s team are now once again facing backlash after arranging for Daniel Micklethwaite, 41, who murdered 50-year-old grandfather John Hayward in 2007, to leave prison for a day where he is serving his life sentence, to come onto campus and give paid lectures to students about his life behind bars between 2018 and 2019.

Micklethwaite was reportedly allowed to visit the university campus despite being refused parole.

Laura Hayward, the daughter of Micklethwaite’s victim, told The Mirror: “We are appalled and disgusted.

“The reason he hasn’t been granted parole is because he’s too dangerous. There is no way he should be allowed out on the streets, let alone have access to a university campus.”

The prison service and the university said “full and thorough risk assessments” were carried out on Micklethwaite.

In a statement made to The Mirror, a spokesperson for Nottingham Trent said: ““Like many universities and ­several other organisations, NTU employs staff who have former convictions and follows legal ­requirements.

“Work is often a key part of their rehabilitation. They contribute to our teaching and research into the rehabilitation of ­offenders.

“This aims to reduce further offending, ­particularly through understanding the ­impact on victims of crime.”

About the employment of Daniel Micklethwaite, a spokesperson for Nottingham Trent University said: “Following full and thorough risk assessments, Daniel Micklethwaite was employed by NTU as a research ­associate and hourly paid lecturer between 2018 and 2019 while on temporary licence as part of his programme of rehabilitation.”

The Tab Nottingham has contacted Belinda Winder for a statement.