HMP Swaleside prison riot as 60 inmates take control of wing and set fires
Fifth disturbance at English jails this month as two former home secretaries say prison population should be halved
SIXTY inmates took control of a prison wing last night in the latest riot to hit a British jail.
Fires were lit at Category B HMP Swaleside, home to 1,100 lags, while pictures emerged of prisoners holding a wooden plank posing in HMP Swaleside.
Video footage filmed on an illegal mobile phone showed prisoners wearing masks, letting off fire extinguishers and waving around pool balls while shouting "Swaleside is burning".
Specially trained guards known as Tornado squads were used and the incident was contained to a landing on A wing which prisoners took control of shortly before 7pm on Thursday.
The rest of the jail, on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, was reportedly secure.
The Prison Service said it was “working to contain an incident”, whilst Prison Officers Association chairman Mike Rolfe said the extent of the disturbance was unclear but confirmed fires had been lit.
He said: "There is an ongoing disturbance there. We are not sure how bad it is yet but we understand 60 prisoners have taken control of A wing there.
"Some fires have been lit, apparently, and basically we know that it's an ongoing incident."
A prison service spokesperson has confirmed that specialist teams have been sent into the prison to manage the incident.
The spokesperson said: “The Prison Service is dealing with an incident involving 60 prisoners at HMP Swaleside.
"The incident is contained to one landing on A Wing. The rest of the prison is secure with all prisoners in locked in cells.”
Andrew Darken of the POA told LBC radio that trouble had been brewing through the day and claimed "closer to 100 inmates" were involved.
Police, fire crews and ambulances have been called to the riot along with specially trained guards known as "Tornado" squads.
HMP Swaleside has a capacity of around 1,100 inmates serving prison terms of more than four years.
It has eight wings comprised of single cells. A wing, where prisoners are rioting houses the prison's Open Academy, a study centre with computer suite.
Mr Rolfe told the the prison was a "particularly difficult place to work".
He added: "It's lifer prisoners so prisoners there are in for long periods of time, they're big powerful guys, there is a lot of violence, a lot of drugs in those prisons at this moment of time."
An HM Inspectorate of Prisons report in July described the prison as "dangerous" and found levels of violence were "far too high", with many of the incidents serious.
A survey found 69 per cent of inmates had felt unsafe at some point, significantly higher than at similar facilities.
HM Inspectorate of Prisons also said the use of force was high, while the segregation unit was described as "filthy".
It comes after a riot at HMP Birmingham last week that involved up to 600 prisoners and was described by experts as the worst for 25 years.
Footage from the riot showed prisoners running wild, throwing tables, stealing computers and using fire extinguishers as the facility descended into chaos.
Earlier this week union officials said guards at HMP Hull were worried about their safety after the transfer of 15 inmates from Birmingham following the riot.
It is the fourth disturbance at an English prison in less than two months.
On November 6, 200 inmates went on a rampage at Bedford Prison and a national response unit had to be sent to an incident at HMP Lewes in East Sussex on 29 October.
POA members held protests outside jails last month amid health and safety concerns after figures showed rising levels of violence.
Today two former home secretaries and a former deputy prime minister said the prison population in England and Wales should be cut by almost a half as the number of people locked up had “gone well beyond what is safe or sustainable”.
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