Justice Secretary David Gauke humiliated as one of Britain’s most notorious prisons placed in ‘special measures’
Ministry of Justice admitted HMP Bedford required ‘additional, specialist support’ and comes as inspectors urged them to intervene at another jail claiming safety levels were ‘unequivocally poor’
JUSTICE Secretary David Gauke was left humiliated today as one of Britain’s most notorious prisons was placed in “special measures”.
The Ministry of Justice admitted HMP Bedford required “additional, specialist support” after unions revealed the move.
It came as inspectors also urged the Government to intervene at another jail this morning - Exeter - as they claimed safety levels were “unequivocally poor”.
Chief Inspector Peter Clarke gave the government 28 days to respond to an urgent notification letter.
The Government has already had to intervene at HMP Nottingham after a similar scathing report by the Inspector at the start of the year.
Union chiefs at the Prison Officers Association said the Government had failed to listen to their pleas for action.
A prison officer at Bedford required emergency brain surgery in March when a lag knocked him out – and jumped on his head.
A riot at the jail last November caused £1 million-worth of damage. It has 500 inmates despite a capacity of 320.
The Prison Officers Association said: “Staff at Bedford have been badly let down by Government and the employer.
“The consequences of the failings at Bedford have impacted on the local community and other emergency services.
“This decision is too little too late and another example of inept management failing to act decisively.”
In his report into Exeter, Peter Clarke said safety in the prison had “significantly worsened” since a last unannounced inspection in 2016.
He gave the jail the lowest possible HMP Prisons grading of “poor”.
Assaults against prisoners and staff at the facility were among the highest the inspectorate had ever seen and illicit drugs were rife – with nearly a quarter of prisoners testing positive for drugs.
In concluding his letter, Mr Clarke told Mr Gauke: “The senior management team that is currently in place at HMP Exeter is largely the same as at the last inspection in 2016.
“The failure to address the actual and perceived lack of safety, and the issues that contribute to both, is so serious that it has led me to have significant concerns about the treatment and conditions of prisoners at HMP Exeter and to the inevitable conclusion to invoke the UN protocol.”
The crisis comes a week after the Justice Secretary revealed plans to allow serious offenders from ‘closed’ Category C prisons to go on day release for paid work in pubs, cafes and shops.
He said “sensitive and challenging” decisions on which prisoners – including those serving time for violent or sexual crimes – would be done at the discretion of prisoner governors.
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Riot-trained police were sent to one Category C prison last year, The Mount in Hertfordshire, after prisoners with weapons took over part of the prison.
Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said he was determined to “act immediately” over Exeter.
He said: “We will provide all the additional support needed to improve safety and reduce self-harm and we are already conducting a rapid review of conditions to improve the standard of cells.
The MoJ said Bedford had been placed in special measures by the HM Prisons and Probation Service itself - before the Chief Inspector had even checked conditions at the jail.