Derek Lewis (prison governor)

Derek Lewis (born 9 July 1946) is a former Director General of HM Prison Service, who was sacked in 1995 by then Home Secretary Michael Howard after a series of high-profile escapes by IRA prisoners. He was the subject of an interview which occurred during the 1997 Conservative Leadership contest in which Jeremy Paxman asked whether Mr Howard had threatened to overrule Lewis. The question was put 12 times with Howard failing to give a definitive answer.

Lewis studied at Queens' College, Cambridge, between 1964 and 1967 where he was a member of the Cherubs dining society.