Opposition Public Safety spokesman Michael Dunkley believes killer Kenneth Burgess could be under the protection of prison officers who allowed him to carry out an hour-long beating on fellow inmate Dennis Robinson.

On Monday Burgess was handed a ten-year sentence for the brutal attack in June last year, while accomplice Kamel Trott was given seven years.

The onslaught left Robinson with a broken jaw, a perforated ear drum and a fractured eye socket.

He now suffers headaches, hearing loss and dizzy spells after the attack – a doctor said he was lucky it did not kill him.

Mr. Dunkley told The Royal Gazette: "I believe an incident like this shows that certain prisoners can be treated differently.

"There are people in Westgate who are either intimidated by Burgess and afraid to hold him to the same rules as other people, or they are protecting him for some reason.

"We need a full inquiry – an investigation to what went on. This is not on."

Mr. Dunkley's claims angered the prison service.

Prison Commissioner Edward Lamb said: "I repudiate and utterly reject that suggestion outright as preposterous and I invite Mr. Dunkley to call me directly – he knows me well enough."

He said the fact that a trial had been held, with Burgess getting ten years, put the lie to any claims Burgess was being protected.

And Prison Officers Association head Craig Clarke said: "They are totally unfounded allegations we refute categorically. He is totally out of line.

"Until he can prove any of these claims he needs not to talk to issues he knows very little about."

Mr. Clarke refused to say any more about the case, which he said was over.

Mr. Dunkley also raised concern that Burgess had been allowed out for a family visit.

Lt. Col. Lamb said Burgess was an inmate entitled to certain privileges including escorted visits for family matters – in dire circumstances.

But Mr. Dunkley said Mr. Clarke and the Commissioner needed to explain how the beating could have happened, why an officer had not been patrolling the unit and why no footage had been recovered.

"I don't buy it, something doesn't smell right."

He said the facility has 24-hour surveillance. "What happened to the footage? Someone needs to go into the system to find out what happened. The public deserve answers."

Mr. Dunkley also said the ten-year sentence meant little because it will not be added to Burgess' life sentence. The only effect would be Burgess goes back to maximum security.

During the trial the court heard the pair attacked Robinson in his cell during a recreation break when the noise level inside the prison was akin to that of a "football match".

Robinson said after the assault the pair pulled a table up outside his cell and sat there playing cards, to intimidate him from coming out.

A prison guard discovered the injured Robinson as he made his lockup rounds after the break.

At the sentencing Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons said the case showed obvious flaws in Westgate's security system which needed to be addressed by prison bosses.

Mr. Dunkley said; "I have the greatest respect for the Prison Officers Association but this case here shows a real lack of accountability on what happened – we need more answers than it went to court and the case was tried."

But Lt. Col. Lamb said lessons had been learned. A thorough investigation was set up immediately after the incident and many of the recommendations had already been implemented, he said.

"One of which includes more regular checks by our officers in each unit," said Lt. Col. Lamb. "That is the major one. The other thing is trying to improve our camera coverage."

He said a mechanical malfunction with a camera led to lack of coverage

The layout of the prison didn't lend itself to camera coverage, said Lt. Col Lamb, so now the service was considering moving the cameras or getting more.

"There are one or two blind spots we want to correct.

"I am glad this is behind us. I am always looking for ways to improve and this has highlighted some things we need to work on."

He said a debriefing review would be held the whole year with a view to fine-tuning procedures.

The court also heard that prison officers had entered the cells and taken things without authorisation.

Mr. Lamb said: "That was unusual – staff know what the procedures and policies are. Those matters have been addressed."

But he said no one had been disciplined.

"I know the trial gave the indication there was wrongdoing or negligence, but the investigation hasn't recommended any disciplinary measures be taken."

Asked if such a beating could happen again he said: "Anything in life is possible, we take the most stringent measures to make sure these things don't happen.

"To be fair you will see the result of trial – that speaks well about the presentation of evidence obviously against them but also the ability of that case to be made with the cooperation of our staff."

Mr. Lamb said prison violence was low.

"That speaks to how well our facilities are run but there is always room for improvement."

Figures in Government's 2008-09 Budget book show there were five inmate-on-inmate assaults last year – one of which was major. The previous year there were also five assaults – four were major.

And assaults on prison officers fell from 12 to seven, three of them major.