WA Prisons boss admits security weaknesses, Serco internal review finds no evidence of price gouging THE boss of Western Australia's prisons has admitted weaknesses in the security of prison vans were partly to blame for the escape of a dangerous rapist last week. Cameron John Graham was just weeks into an 11-year sentence for rape when he was permitted to move closer to his family in the north of the state for Christmas. It was during his transfer by private prison contractor Serco last Friday that Graham and a fellow prisoner broke out of a prison van, stole a car and went on the run for days - sparking a furious public reaction. New Corrective Services commissioner James McMahon admitted the reasons for the escape were "procedural and mechanical." Corrective Services Commissioner James McMahon. While he refused to detail those issues for security reasons, he said security had been beefed up. "I have put directives in place that fix those issues ... and that is important because I need to know I can transport prisoners securely," Mr McMahon said. Corrective Services Minister Joe Francis again apologised for the escape and said he would be addressing whether Serco should cover the cost of the prisoners' recapture in a face-to-face meeting next week. Earlier today, Serco Asia-Pacific boss Mark Irwin has hit back at claims the company overcharged the WA Government for transporting prisoners, saying an internal review has found "nothing." Serco has faced mounting pressure to front the public over the botched transfer, as well as allegations of price gouging. Mr Francis has said he was investigating claims the private contractor had charged the Government tens of thousands of dollars to take prisoners short distances in regional WA. Today Mr Irwin said the allegations were untrue. Mark Irwin, CEO of Serco Asia Pacific. He said Serco carried out its own investigation into the claims and found "nothing to substantiate them." It was alleged this week that Serco quoted or charged $23,000 for the transport of a prisoner from Geraldton to Carnarvon for a funeral in December 2012. Mr Irwin said this was incorrect. He said the final invoice and cost to the department was $10,367 - the majority of which was for an air charter to meet the timing of the funeral because a commercial flight was not available. But he admitted the original quote for the service was $19,234. The Department of Correctives Services signed off on the final invoice of $10,367, he added. Under the current contract, Serco is paid a set monthly fee to provide baseline services. Where "additional services" are requested, Serco says it provides quotes to the Department with an itemised estimate of costs. Mr Irwin said the department reviews all quotes before approving them. In the first nine months of 2013, Serco was paid $518,490 for 170 'additional services'. The majority of those were prisoner transports and movements, with some additional security requests. $77,980 of this work, mainly labour, was covered by the set monthly fee, according to the company. Mr Irwin said Serco had requested documentary evidence to support the allegations made against the company but it had not been provided to them. "We have reviewed these allegations and can find nothing to substantiate them," he said. We have informed the Department and the Government and provided them with our findings. I am proud of our work in WA and our people who deliver essential services. Rightly, the work that we do is subject to rigorous monitoring and review. We will keep working to offer better services and better value for money, but we want to be judged on the facts. Mr Irwin said in the two years since Serco had managed Court Security and Custodial Services for the WA Government it had made almost 70,000 prisoner transports, an average of one every 15 minutes, covering almost three million kms.