Joe Harker
Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing.
Former Lostprophets member Lee Gaze has broken his silence following the news that disgraced bandmate Ian Watkins was killed in prison.
Watkins was killed on 11 October while serving a 29-year sentence at HMP Wakefield for child sex crimes, having been jailed in 2013.
Two men, aged 25 and 43, were arrested at the prison after Watkins was reportedly attacked by a knife in the early hours of Saturday morning (11 October), with the emergency services attending the scene and the paedophile being pronounced dead.
A West Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: "Detectives have launched a murder investigation after the death of a man in HMP Wakefield.
“Officers were called by staff at the prison at 9.39am this morning to reports of a serious assault on a prisoner. A man aged 48 was found with serious injuries. Despite medical attention he was pronounced dead at the scene.
"Two men aged 25 and 43 have been arrested on suspicion of murder and are currently in police custody. Detectives from the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team are investigating and inquiries remain ongoing."
In the aftermath of the news that Watkins had been killed, some people on X told former Lostprophets guitarist Lee Gaze about it and said they hoped he and the rest of the band had done alright following the revelations and imprisonment of Watkins.
While he responded to these messages largely with the prayer emoji, Gaze said 'thanks for the kind words' to someone who got in touch to tell the guitarist 'you've created things beyond him'.
The guitarist's condemnation of his former bandmate was clear, as someone else shared an interview clip from 2010 where an internet user called 'baby girl' asked them what their guilty pleasure was and Watkins said 'you just answered it', a response which took on sickening new context given what he was convicted for.
Someone reacting to the footage said it was 'easy to look at things with the benefit of hindsight' and Gaze explained that the other members of Lostprophets had not known what Watkins was doing.
He wrote: "Yeh, and that sick c**t obvs knew what he was saying. I can assure you had any of us known he’d never of made it as far as prison."
An ex-girlfriend of Watkins', Joanne Mjadzelics, recently told the Daily Mail she was 'surprised' that Watkins being killed 'didn't happen sooner'.
This was not the first time he had been attacked in prison and Mjadzelics said she expected that the families of his victims would be 'rejoicing' at the news Watkins was no longer around.
She said: "He was walking around with a target on his back from the first day he entered the prison. I have always been scared of him getting out and tracking me down or something, so this is a relief.
"I wanted him dead for a long time after everything he did. I am relieved, I feel like a weight has been lifted from my head.
"This is the second time someone has slashed his throat. I expected it to have happened earlier. He's been in there for almost 13 years."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 10am-8pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111, 24/7.