A prison governor who had a relationship with a drug-dealing gang boss has been jailed for nine years.

Kerri Pegg, 42, was seen as a “rising star” of the Prison Service, climbing the career ladder from graduate to governor at HMP Kirkham in Lancashire in six years.

But her trial heard she “didn’t play by the rules” and began a relationship with major Liverpool crime figure Anthony Saunderson, helping him secure day release.

Sentencing her at Preston Crown Court, Judge Graham Knowles KC told her: “You betrayed the public trust in you and you betrayed the Prison Service.”

He continued: “It was shocking and unconscionable that you should have had that relationship.

“You knew how you should and should not act. You had training and support. You were warned and you were challenged.

“The boundaries were clear and explicit and you knew you were crossing them.”

Pegg, from Up Holland in Lancashire, was convicted of misconduct in public office and possession of criminal property following a trial at the same court in April.

The jury heard how, when police raided Pegg’s home in Orrell, Wigan, they found a toothbrush with Saunderson’s DNA on it.

It also emerged Pegg, who was also found guilty of one count of possession of criminal property, had been given a gift of a £12,000 Mercedes C-class car by Saunderson, which was paid for from the proceeds of 34 kilos of amphetamines.

During his communications with other criminals, Saunderson – who is now spending 35 years behind bars – had used the name Jesse Pinkman after a meth dealer in the hit TV show Breaking Bad, the trial heard.

He also went under the name James Gandolfini, the actor who played Tony Soprano in the mafia TV series.

Jurors heard Pegg was known to spend a lot of time in her office with the inmate and, in October 2018, he put in a request to be released on temporary licence.

Though such requests are routine there are specific rules for how they should be dealt with – rules which the governor broke.

Detectives found Pegg, originally from Bramhall, Stockport, was living way beyond her means, buying designer jewellery and clothes including Jimmy Choo shoes and Chanel necklaces.

They found that despite her £3,000 a month income, she was deeply in debt and had not declared three County Court judgments which amounted to misconduct, as debts make officials vulnerable to corruption.

Her four credit cards were “maxed out”, the court heard, and she had just 6p in her savings account.

Judge Knowles said the fact she had not declared the County Court Judgements left her “catastrophically compromised” and vulnerable to “corruption and blackmail”.

He added that Pegg was “impossibly vulnerable to Saunderson'” once she started in her “dereliction of duty” because she “knew he could destroy your career”.

In addition to the nine year jail sentence for the first charge of misconduct in public office, Pegg was sentenced to two years’ prison for the second misconduct charge and four years for accepting criminal property – all to be served concurrently.

The court heard how Pegg was arrested in late 2020 following a police investigation into Saunderson’s communications on the encrypted messaging system Encrochat.

Officers found messages from Saunderson which included references to “Kerri” and to buying a Mercedes for his girlfriend.

Saunderson was also read to joking with associates about driving around with “Peggy” in her new car.

Pegg was arrested with the Mercedes parked outside her house, the court heard.

She also had a “burner” mobile phone she used soley to communicate with Saunderson.

Pegg’s trial heart that Saunderson had developed and delivered a programme titled BADD (Beating Alcohol and Drug Dependency) for inmates at several jails while at the time being a major drug dealer, running an amphetamines factory.

Saunderson was released from Kirkham in May 2019 and within two months, while still on licence, was involved in another massive drug conspiracy.

Pegg’s trial heard he continued contact with prisons in the BADD programme and was also still close to Pegg, who was at the time the regional official co-ordinating drug strategy in six prisons in the North West.

Even members of his gang grumbled that their boss was spending too much time with Pegg, neglecting his wife and “work”, the court heard.

Tarryn McCaffrey, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Pegg’s actions in becoming involved with a prisoner who had committed serious drug offences portrayed a total lack of integrity or judgment.

“She displayed a shocking lack of professionalism in her role, overriding rules around Saunderson’s temporary release and ignoring her obligations to declare personal debts.”

Det Insp Brian Morley, from the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit’s Prison Intelligence Unit, said: “Kerri Pegg was a senior figure within the Prison Service, a public servant expected to behave to the highest standards but this was serious misconduct on her part and greatly undermines the trust given to prison staff and order in a prison.”

Pegg’s defence barrister Andrew Alty told the court his client had been taken advantage of by a “sophisticated criminal”.

He said she was a “caring, compassionate individual who tries to see the best in everyone.”

Phil Copple, chief executive of HM Prison and Probation Service, said: “The criminal misconduct in this case lets down the public we serve as well as the vast majority of honest and hardworking prison staff, but it also demonstrates our determination to take robust action against those who fail to achieve proper professional standards.”