Shamed Rolf Harris given 'art job' by prison chiefs

The 85-year-old is creating a huge mural at Stafford prison.

He is believed to be leading a team of inmates on the project.

It is thought he was included after prison bosses refused him drawing paper because his sketches kept getting stolen.

A source said: "The only explanation I can think of for letting Rolf do the mural is that it will be too big for any of the other prisoners to pinch.

"But they are not happy. He's swanning around painting while they are stuck peeling spuds.

"He's getting special treatment."

Child abuse campaigners also criticised the decision to allow the Australian to do the mural at Stafford.

Harris was moved there after being taunted at HMP Bullingdon in Oxfordshire.

Peter Saunders, of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood, said:" This is a terrible signal to his victims.

"He is there to do a punishment, not to carry on as normal."

The Prison Service declined to comment.

Harris was jailed for five years, nine months last July for indecently assaulting four girls.

In a letter to a shocked friend which emerged last month, he branded them 'slimy woodworms' in the lyrics of songs he said he planned to release when he was freed.

In the song lyrics which emerged he repeatedly showed disdain for his victims suggesting they took advantage of the flood of recent prosecutions for historical child abuse offences.

The sickening lyrics were included in a letter sent by Harris to a friend, who was then so appalled they released its contents to a Sunday newspaper.

After the lyrics came to light, Staffordshire's police and crime commissioner Matthew Ellis said he hoped the lack of remorse shown by Harris should encourage other victims of child abuse to come forward.

Mr Ellis said: "The words reported to have been written by Harris are callous, appearing to show no sense of remorse or understanding of how vulnerable children live with their experiences for years, and sometimes for the rest of their lives.

"I'm sure people will be sickened to hear about this and I hope it makes anyone who has been the victim of child abuse, either historically or recently, more determined to come forward and report it no matter who the abuser is or what position in life they hold."