Northern Irish authorities lose track of yet another prisoner - this time a convicted murderer who stabbed a man 51 times

Yet again, the Northern Irish authorities have lost track of one of their convicts – this time, a man convicted of murder.
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By Adam Kula
Published 17th Nov 2023, 10:23 BST
Updated 17th Nov 2023, 17:54 BST

Glen Allen went missing on November 8, but no effort was seemingly made to circulate his disappearance to media; no press release was issued by the Department of Justice (DoJ) or the police, and no mention was made of it on the DoJ Twitter feed.

It was the second time he had absconded in under a year.

The News Letter found out about it because this reporter happened to look up the DoJ’s Unlawfully at Large webpage yesterday morning.

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Images of prisoner Glen Allen; the public should report any sightings of him to police, and should not approach himImages of prisoner Glen Allen; the public should report any sightings of him to police, and should not approach him
Images of prisoner Glen Allen; the public should report any sightings of him to police, and should not approach him

The DoJ now tells the News Letter that he has now been returned to custody.

Though there were no details of how he absconded, what we know about him from previous court reports is this.

In 2010, he was given a life sentence for murder (meaning he is in danger of being recalled to prison if he re-offends for as long as he lives).

His minimum term in jail was set at 14.5 years by Lord Justice Girvan at Antrim Crown Court.

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Allen met his victim William Meek “by chance” in 2008, and they went drinking together in Portrush.

Mr Meek then reported to police that he was stabbed 14 times in the head and neck “for no reason” by Allen.

Allen – who had previous robbery and burglary convictions – was bailed over that attack, but a few months later the two men ran into one another again and started drinking together once more.

This time, Allen took Meek back to his flat and stabbed him 51 times, then set fire to the flat to destroy the crime scene.

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Soot in Meek’s lungs indicated he was still alive during the blaze.

Last December, Allen – then aged 34 – vanished while on unsupervised temporary leave from prison.

He was arrested five days after police issued a media appeal to find him and given an extra three months on to his sentence as a result.

The News Letter has reported time and time again on the repeated disappearances of killers and career criminals,

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Early last month we reported that Thomas McCabe – who was convicted of murder for beating a young stranger to death with a pipe – had gone missing for at least the seventh time.

He remains at large.

Then about three weeks later Sean Tate, a kidnapper with weapons convictions, escaped while being escorted on temporary leave.

He had done so previously in 2018.

He also remains at large.