KILLER paedophile Sidney Cooke was quizzed by cops over an alleged prison attack on another lag.
Vile Cooke – who at 97 is Britain’s oldest prisoner – was grilled after the other con accused him of throwing a substance at him while issuing threats.
This is the moment killer paedo Sidney Cooke threatened and gesticulated towards another inmate at HMP Wakefield
Cooke was interviewed in jail but denied hauling the substance
The clash came before Cooke was battered to the ground in a vicious attack, which The Sun also exclusively revealed
The Sun also exclusively revealed an image of Cooke, 97, in his cell
Detectives visited him in jail last week after we revealed the first picture of the fiend for 26 years – and images appearing to show him pointing at a lag and hurl abuse as they clashed on a landing.
That incident came before Cooke – suspected of involvement in up to 20 child murders – was battered to the ground with a drinks flask in a vicious attack caught on camera, which we also revealed.
A source said: “Cooke was interviewed in jail but denied chucking the substance at the inmate, who wasn’t really injured.
“They had to question him as the prisoner complained to a jail guard who was duty-bound to report it to police.
“Cooke is still very with it despite his age, remembered the incident and told a different story about their dispute.
“But it did seem ridiculous to some people that they were interviewing a 97-year old about a prison incident.
“He is already in jail and not likely to be going anywhere.
“He was told he faced no further action and there wasn’t really any evidence against him.
“But the attack on him where he was battered to the ground, which is thought to be linked to the first dispute, is being investigated further.”
In that video, ex fairground worker Cooke was seen being knocked unconscious by the lag wielding the metal flask.
His attacker continued to rain down blows after Cooke had been bludgeoned to the ground, crashing it into his face three more times.
Cooke, who is serving two life sentences for historical child abuse, was saved when another lag rugby-tackled his attacker off him before prison officers intervened.
Cooke was one of a paedophile gang jailed over the 1985 killing of abducted Jason Swift, 14, in east London.
He was later named in court as being involved in other child abductions and murders, after operating with a gang of paedophiles referred to as the ‘Dirty Dozen’.
‘HIGH RISK TO PUBLIC’
Cooke – jailed in 1989 for the manslaughter of Jason – was freed in 1998 amid uproar and taken into voluntary custody for his own protection.
He was then jailed for life in 1999 for abusing two brothers in the 1970s.
Cooke is set for a parole review – his 12th hearing – later this year.
When he was last refused parole in May 2023, Cooke was “assessed as presenting a very high risk of serious harm to the public”.
The Parole Board has said decisions are “solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released”.
West Yorkshire Police has been contacted.
The Ministry of Justice declined the opportunity to comment.
Cooke paces the corridors at HMP Wakefield trying to intimidate other inmates despite his age
The Sun’s story on menace Cooke in 1998News Group Newspapers Ltd
Cooke pictured in 1999 before his return to jail
Enterprise News and PicturesJason Swift was abducted and molested after he went missing in July 1985[/caption]
Photonews ServiceCooke was linked to the killing of Barry Lewis, six, of Walworth, South London, in 1985[/caption]
Cooke was named in court as a ringleader in the death of Mark Tildesley, seven, who vanished in 1984 Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]