Private security contractor Serco says there is no way their officers could have tampered with security footage in a van from which two dangerous West Australian prisoners escaped.
A report into the January 3 escape of Cameron John Graham and fellow inmate Kelden Fraser found that a dodgy lock allowed the pair to escape, and CCTV designed to film them in the van was not available.
WA prisons boss James McMahon revealed a recording device in the van was not working, but refused to release the full report into the escape.
Contractor Serco, who will have to pay more than $700,000 in penalties and upgrades to the WA prison van fleet following the escape, said the recording device was not accessible by their officers.
"The pod cameras and monitors in the cab were operating as normal, allowing staff to conduct welfare checks and maintain duty-of-care," Serco said in a statement.
"The recording devices are kept in a secure cabinet in the body of the vehicle that is not accessible by any Serco officers.
"The devices are downloaded and maintained by a third party for the Department of Corrective Services. Serco has no access."
The state opposition and the prison officer's union have both suggested the vision of the escape could have been wiped.
"The only way forward is for an open independent inquiry to get to the bottom of everything. The loss of two prisoners is a trigger for loss of contract and Serco have lost three prisoners in a month," opposition spokesman Paul Papalia said.
But Corrective Services minister Joe Francis said he was "comfortable" the video had not been tampered with.
