London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

YouTube refuses to remove account of prisoner who films videos in his cell

YouTube refuses to remove account of prisoner who films videos in his cell

Sam Walker, currently serving at Forest Bank prison in Salford, has been making videos of himself inside various forms of custody since 2018
YouTube is refusing to delete the account of a serial offender who regularly posts videos from his prison cell and uses his channel to abuse judges, complain about his sentence and give details of drug-taking inside the UK jails.

Sam Walker, who is serving a sentence for possession of 3kg of cannabis and driving while disqualified, has been filming videos of himself inside various forms of custody since 2018.

His latest videos include a question-and-answer session this month from a Hull prison with some of the 23,700 subscribers to his YouTube channel. In it, he claims many of his fellow prisoners are “spiced up like zombies” and that security staff are “spineless”.

Another purports to be filmed by a friend as Walker is escorted by prison guard for a trial last week in Chester crown court when he was found not guilty of possessing counterfeit money.

In one video, when his guard asks him to move, Walker replies: “Hold on a sec, I’m talking”, and then goes on to accuse judges of being paedophiles who give drug dealers longer sentences than rapists.

This year the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) digital media investigations unit has twice urged YouTube to take down Walker’s channel but both times it refused.

A Prison Service spokesperson pointed out it was illegal to film from a prison. He said: “We will continue to press YouTube to remove this content. Anyone found in possession of a phone will face extra time behind bars.”

In a video posted in January, Walker, who is from Liverpool, claimed he had raised £1,700 in a month from his video channel, which he said he was donating to a humanitarian campaign to improve conditions in the slums of Sierra Leone.

YouTube has suggested that Walker’s prison videos remain available to view because he has not broken its rules, but it has now prevented him making any money from the account.

Asked why it had refused the MoJ’s request to take down the video, YouTube did not directly answer. It said: “YouTube creators have a responsibility both on and off the platform. If we see that a creator’s on- and/or off-platform behaviour harms our community, we may take action such as suspending the channel from the YouTube partner programme, which would disable their ability to earn money.”

It refused to elaborate but confirmed Walker’s account had been “demonetised”.

Walker, who is thought to be 38, boasts that he first went to prison aged 14. His criminal record includes firearms offences, assault, and possession of drugs with intent to supply. He has recorded videos from numerous prison and police cells including Woodhill high-security prison, as he urged a fellow prisoner to guard the door to “make sure no screws come”.

Walker has used his channel to discuss the tedium of prison life; the quality of prison food; his routine of working out and writing; and the effect on his mental health of being moved from various jails. After being transferred from Hull prison, he is currently in Forest Bank prison in Salford.

In private, the Prison Service conceded that Walker’s videos highlighedt a continuing problem of the widespread availability of contraband mobile phones in prisons. “We know Walker doesn’t have a phone at the moment but we don’t know he hasn’t recorded more videos,” an MoJ source said.

They added: “We’ve put in two requests to YouTube to remove the videos on the grounds that from our perspective this is illegal content that has been recorded inside prison. But if you can’t demonstrate beyond doubt that it’s been uploaded from within the prison, then YouTube says they will not automatically remove the content.”

The source who has discussed the issue with YouTube said: “They said uploading the videos to YouTube isn’t a criminal offence. It would make our lives a lot easier if it was illegal for that footage to be broadcast from anywhere.”

The source added: “YouTube are a free speech international platform which is not governed by any jurisdiction.”

Walker has been approached for comment.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
×