A “sadistic” double murderer sued the Ministry of Justice over claims he was mentally traumatised when the Xbox in his cell was broken by heavy handed prison screws.
Nigel Farmer and accomplice Danno Sonnex tortured two French students for three hours before killing them and setting fire to their home in south east London in June 2008.
The victims, PHD research students, Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez, were stabbed to death, suffering hundred of separate wounds after being tied up during an attack described by the sentencing judge as "truly horrific".
Farmer was jailed for life with a 35-year minimum term in 2009, but has since whiled away his hours playing video games on an Xbox in his cell, a court heard.
He sued for damages at Central London County Court last week after the console stopped working, blaming rough handling by officers during a search of his cell.
Farmer claimed the loss of the console had caused him mental trauma as he has since spent hours in his cell with nothing to do.
Farmer brought his claim in a category for cases worth up to £10,000. He wanted compensation for the loss of his toy, as well as damages for his "mental health being impacted" by now not having a working console in his cell.
But after a hearing held via a video link, Judge Laura Orger dismissed his claim, finding that he hadn't produced enough evidence that the Xbox was broken by the officers.
"The fact that the Xbox stopped working after the cell search" was not good enough evidence, the judge said, adding: "it is quite common for electrical devices to break".
Representing himself via a videolink from jail, Farmer claimed officers at HMP Full Sutton had broken the Xbox while carrying out a routine cell search on 9 January 2024.
Farmer, drinking a cup of coffee as he presented his own case from HMP Frankland, where he is now held, said he had been gaming before the search was carried out and argued that the fact that it stopped working afterwards meant it was probably the fault of the officers roughly handling it.
Giving judgment on the claim, Judge Orger said: "This is claim for damage to property, damage which he believes was caused during a routine cell search on 9 January 2024.
"The claimant's case is that the Xbox was working perfectly well and he was in fact playing on it before the search commenced and afterwards it was broken.
"The claimant claims that the loss of the Xbox has impacted his mental health, as he has spent many hours locked up in his cell with little distraction since the loss of his personal property.
"The defendant says there is no evidence of any visible mishandling of the Xbox by staff during the search.
"The defendant says it is just a coincidence that the Xbox happened to stop working after the cell search and is not evidence of wrongdoing.
"I have sympathy for the claimant's position and I can understand why he has brought this claim. It is possible that the officers did break the property in question.
"But the court can only rely on the evidence before it and the fact that the Xbox stopped working after the cell search does not meet the requirements of the standard of proof.
"It is quite common for electrical devices to break and I cannot find for the claimant as there is just not sufficient evidence to find for his case."
In 2009, Farmer was convicted of two counts of murder, false imprisonment, burglary and arson at London's Old Bailey.
Sentencing Farmer and his accomplice, trial judge Mr Justice Saunders said: "I am satisfied that the only possible reason for the number of stab wounds is that the killings were sadistic.
"The killers got pleasure from what they were doing."
