Murder suspects pose at Glastonbury after prison officer shot dead in 'revenge attack'

Two men accused of murdering a prison officer in a "revenge attack" have now been pictured together at Glastonbury Festival. Elias Morgan, 35, and co-defendant, Anthony Cleary, 29, are being accused of the murder of Lenny Scott, 33, who was shot six times by a gunman outside a gym on Peel Road in Skelmersdale in February 2024. Alleged gunman, Morgan, is accused of shooting the father of three in an "act of retaliation" after Mr Scott allegedly exposed an illicit relationship involving him and a female officer at HMP Altcourse, the court heard.

Alex Leach KC, prosecuting, told the jury that after Mr Scott refused a £1,500 offer to not report a phone containing evidence of the relationship, Morgan told him: "I'll bide my time, but I promise I will get you" before making a gun gesture. Cleary is alleged to have assisted Morgan by "delivering the van and bike so they could be used by a gunman who intended to kill Lenny Scott". Both men deny murder, and Cleary has denied a second charge of manslaughter, Liverpool Echo reports.

Proceedings continued Tuesday. Mr Leach began to take the jury through a sequence of events which included CCTV and ANPR footage and cell site data.

Mr Leach told the jury that the sequence of events showed contact between Morgan and Cleary, including images of them together at Glastonbury Festival in June 2023, days after Morgan entered a not guilty plea to possession of the unauthorised phone recovered by Mr Scott. The pictures showed the pair posing with the festival in the background and another of the men lying down, with Cleary extending his arm around Morgan's shoulder.

The court heard telematics data on Morgan's Mercedes vehicle showed it was in Spain until December 11. The court heard it couldn't be established when the car went to Spain, but it was there from at least July 11. Between November 12 and 19 that year, a number attributed to Morgan used networks in the UAE and in Spain until December 11, the court heard.

The court heard phones attributed to Morgan and Cleary crossed from Spain into France on December 12. An Instagram message recovered from Cleary saw him telling an associate he was with "me bird, me mate" and that they were "bringing car back from Spain, few stops on the way". Images recovered from Cleary's handset showed them together in Paris. The Mercedes was back in Liverpool on December 13.

In the early hours of December 23, Morgan made a payment to Aer Lingus in Dublin and later made a payment to Manchester Airport, the court heard. A phone attributed to Morgan was used across mainland Europe between December 24 and 30 and in Spain between New Year's Eve and January 2, 2024.

Mr Leach then took the jury through the events of January 3, 2024, which is around five weeks before Mr Scott was shot dead. During his opening, Mr Leach said it was the prosecution's case that defendant Morgan used January 3 as a "reconnaissance trip", where, along with other unidentified men, he visited three addresses linked to Mr Scott.

The jury heard these were the North West Mecca Gym in Speke, Mr Scott's home address in Prescot and a gym at Peel House in Skelmersdale, outside of which he was shot dead.

They heard that Morgan had returned to the UK on the morning of January 3 and his car was captured on an ANPR camera travelling west on Speke Boulevard at 1.47pm.

The court heard between 1.49pm and 1.59pm, the car was captured on CCTV travelling along Gaskill Road towards the Mecca Gym on Shaw Road and back, and at 2.19pm a phone number attributed to Morgan connected to a cell on Ramsbrook Lane in Widnes, around a six minute drive from the gym, before near identical footage showed the car again travelling towards and away from the same gym between 2.52pm and 3.08pm.

The court heard Morgan's Ford Fiesta later activated an ANPR camera travelling along Warrington Road, Prescot travelling towards the town centre at 5.57pm. Mr Leach said this brought the vehicle into close proximity with Mr Scott's home address of Hawthorn Road. By 6.48pm, a phone again attributed to Morgan connected to a cell in the area close to Peel House.

The court was shown footage taken from the entrance to Peel House at 6.56pm, and heard that the footage showed two unidentified males approaching the front entrance of Peel House. CCTV footage from inside Peel House showed "the same two males".

They were seen on various CCTV cameras over the next 12 minutes, before they left at 7.08pm. Mr Leach said a little over two minutes later Morgan's phone connected to a cell in Skelmersdale, which provided coverage to the area of Peel House. At 7.15pm, Morgan's phone connected to a different cell on the other side of the motorway, the court heard. About nine minutes later, the Ford Fiesta activated an ANPR camera in St Helens before it returned to Liverpool by 8.06pm.

Mr Leach said: "On the 8th of February 2024 [...] Lenny Scott was coming out of his gym at Peel House in Skelmersdale when he was approached by a man wearing a high-visibility jacket and carrying a handgun.

"The man shot him, six times, to the head and body. Lenny Scott died of his injuries. The man travelled to and escaped from the scene on an electric motorbike, which he loaded onto the back of a van, a short distance away, before driving back towards Liverpool. The murder was, the prosecution says, an act of retaliation.

"The prosecution says that once you've heard the evidence, you will be sure that, at the very least, Elias Morgan orchestrated Lenny Scott's murder, recruiting Anthony Cleary to assist him in doing so. That alone would make him guilty of murder on count one.

"Moreover, the prosecution say, when you've examined the fine detail of the evidence, you will be sure not only that Elias Morgan is guilty of murder by organising the killing of Lenny Scott, you will be sure that it was he who pulled the trigger himself.

"For his part, Anthony Cleary, the second defendant, played a supporting role. Acting on instructions, he delivered the van, containing the electric motorbike used by the gunman, to a housing estate close to the gym. Moreover, he knew that he was delivering the van and bike so that they could be used by a gunman who intended to kill Lenny Scott, or at least to cause him really serious harm."

He also told the jury: "The evidence you are about to hear, when examined in detail, reveals a powerful image, one in which Elias Morgan, driven by a desire for revenge and reliant on Anthony Cleary for his assistance, planned and executed the murder of Lenny Scott. Both men, the prosecution says, are guilty of his murder."

The trial continues.