A student at one of Britain’s top universities has been sent a letter from a convicted MURDERER – after he saw her on a TV broadcast of ‘Carols From King’s’.
The 21-year-old was one of a number of King’s College pupils who took part in the annual Christmas concert shown on BBC Two on December 24.
She was seen giving a reading and her name flashed up on screen beneath her during the famous event at the college chapel.
But days later she received a letter from Johnnie Allan, 55, who was convicted of a multi-million pound drug plot in 1997 and later for the murder of a fellow suspect.
He said he had watched the concert from his maximum security prison and she had ”touched his heart”.
The rambling letter asked her to be his pen pal and for her help to pick up his cause and fight to clear his name.
It was delivered after the lag wrote her name and the generic University of Cambridge address on the envelope.
The third year student said she broke down when she realised the four-page hand-written note had been penned by killer Allan, who is currently serving life.
She says she is too scared to be identified and fears for her safety as he could be out as early as next year.
Speaking to student newspaper The Tab, she said: ”I went to the post room to get my letters and I opened it then and there.
“After reading a couple of lines I realised what the letter was and totally freaked out.
“I ran to my friends and had to ask them to read the rest of it for me. I was shaking like a leaf.
“It’s terrifying – I never expected to get anything like this. I can’t believe he’s allowed to do this. I’m not even sure how he managed to write to me.
“Our university postal system is pretty simple, but I didn’t think that people serving life in prison could just send letters out to random people.”
The four-page letter is dated December 29, five days after the televised service.
It begins: “How you doing? Through the bars of my window I can see some seagulls hovering, screeching, while to guard dogs leap up in unison, snapping at the birds as if they are low-flying Frisbees.
“As cells go this one is long enough for pacing up and down while I can take three steps forward and three steps back.
“But enough of my sales pitch, as I doubt I can convince you to swap places?”
The rambling letter continues to explain about life inside max-security institute HMP Long Lartin, in Evesham, Worcestershire.
Allan wrote: “I found you tweaking my imagination after seeing and hearing your beautiful reading at King’s College (Christmas Eve) which touched my heart?
“And trapped inside my concrete cube I decided to send you this speculative (almost message-in-a-bottle) type letter, taking the million-to-one chance you might be interested to bounce ideas, despite the negative image associated with where I currently live.”
He added: “This message could: a) Spark off a stimulating connection; b) Make you turn my envelope into a paper aeroplane floating into your wastebin.”
The letter was posted with a first class stamp and has a franking mark from the Royal Mail Birmingham Mail Centre on January 2.
In it, Allan even explained the nature of his conviction, but refused to admit guilt.
He added: “Why am I imprisoned? Well XXXX it’s hard to paint a picture of yourself onto an already blackened canvas.
“I’m alleged to have organised the importation of a large amount of drugs and worse still, shot someone.
“However the flip side reality is that after I tried to expose serious high level police corruption, I actually became their prime target to silence and cover their ass.”
Allan also explains he was a victim of a massive conspiracy, and why he wrote to the student in the first place.
The murderer signed off the letter with: “What do you study? Tell me a bit about you? What makes you happy?
“Right, the ball’s in your court now. Please write if the feeling takes you. Que sera sera. Over to you. Best wishes regardless, Johnnie.”
The stunned student said: “It’s pretty unnerving that he felt the need to send me a letter.
“I’m not going to be looking over my shoulder or anything like that – he didn’t make any threats, or even say anything about ‘meeting’ or ‘seeing’ me.
“I’m astonished he was able to send the letter. And if he’s in maximum security prison, how was he able to watch the television?”
She added: “It’s very creepy, but not that threatening. I don’t know really what he was trying to achieve.
“It’s pretty unnerving – I definitely don’t want to be in this situation, and I hope to never be contacted by him again.”
The letter made its way to the student after the killer read her name on TV, and used the standard University of Cambridge address.
The top university postal team then marked the letter with the student’s college and it was delivered to the mail room, where she went to collect it.
Allan, who has spent the last 18 years in prison, has a reputation as a prolific letter-writer, and had a four-year correspondence with troubled heiress Eva Rousing.
He was convicted in 1997 of an #8million drugs conspiracy, and received a life sentence in 2003 for the murder of his former co-defendant.
According to prisoner service website PenPals Behind Bars, Allan’s earliest release date is next year, and he is seeking a “female nice but naughty, who likes to communicate.”
The Ministry of Justice has said the letter from the killer did not break any rules, but if the student complains, he will be barred from sending any further letters.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: “If a member of the public receives unwanted mail from a prisoner and complains, we can and will prevent any further attempts to contact that person.
“Appropriate measures will be taken against anyone who flouts the rules.”
