A prison workshop instructor has pleaded guilty to having an “inappropriate relationship” with Zara Aleena’s murderer.

Hayley Jones, from Strood, admitted misconduct in a public office over an inappropriate relationship with Jordan McSweeney.

The 33-year-old entered her plea to the charge during a hearing at Woolwich Crown Court today (October 31).

Their relationship is understood to have happened between March 6 and April 7 last year at HMP Belmarsh in London.

McSweeney, charged with encouraging or assisting the commission of an indictable offence, did not appear in court either in person or by video link.

No plea was entered for the charge he faces.

Officers at HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire told the court that the 31-year-old was “having difficulty with walking” and therefore could not make his way to the link room.

McSweeney, from Rochester, is due to appear at the same court on Tuesday, November 19 for a further hearing.

A provisional trial date has also been set for April 13, 2026.

Jones was granted conditional bail and a pre-sentence report was ordered ahead of her sentencing on a date yet to be fixed.

McSweeney killed 35-year-old Ms Aleena as she walked home from a night out in Ilford, east London, in the early hours of June 26, 2022.

He was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 38 years at the Old Bailey in December 2022 after admitting sexually assaulting and murdering her.

In November 2023, he won a Court of Appeal bid to reduce the minimum term of his life sentence to 33 years.