'RIOT POLICE RAN AWAY'
Moment 500 armed lags go on rampage at HMP Birmingham as secret report reveals UK’s biggest prison riot in 30 years could have been prevented
THIS is the shocking moment 500 armed lags rampage at HMP Birmingham as a report reveals the prison riot could have been prevented.
The riot - the biggest in the UK in 30 years - saw staff lose control of four wings as prisoners stole keys and freed 500 inmates.
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Criminals started fires and threatened staff with syringes full of blood during the carnage in December 2016.
But a damning report revealed by ITV shows the riot could have been prevented but staff felt "unable to make decisions" such as putting prisoners back in cells.
The report, uncovered by ITV’s Exposure programme, also found staff had "relinquished authority to the prisoners who were in effect policing themselves for much of the time.”
The show features footage filmed by inmates on illegal phones as they rampaged through the prison.
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Prisoners caused £2million of damage during a 12-hour riot which saw them take over four wings of the jail.
They smashed cells and offices, set fire to stairwells and destroyed paper records causing 500 inmates - a third of the jail's population - to be moved to other sites during repair work.
Lags also pelted staff with missiles and paint and used an injured prisoner as "bait".
Tornado Teams, police, ambulance and firefighters were all at the scene, with police finally regaining control of the prison 12 hours after the riot began.
The ITV show also discovered the specialist Tornado teams were sent out in 23 separate incidents last year.
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The report says: "We concluded that the disturbance could and should have been prevented.
"There were several windows of opportunity in the early stages of the incident where it was no more than a passive protest when a hold could have been established preventing the subsequent escalation.
"There were sufficient staff on the wings and in the prison to form a hold but the staff apparently felt unable to make decisions (such as to secure prisoners back in cells) without a clear order and so they withdrew ceding control to the prisoners.
"We formed the view that staff had over the preceding years and especially in the preceding few months become worn down by the chronic staffing shortages at HMP Birmingham caused by a combination of high levels of sickness, attrition and disorganised deployment."
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But G4S, which runs HMP Birmingham for the government, has praised its "dedicated officers" who "faced determined aggression with incredible courage, resilience and professionalism".
Prison mutiny, which is contrary to Section 1 of the Prison Security Act 1992, carries a maximum ten-year jail sentence.
The disorder was described as the most serious riot in a category B prison since the 25-day rebellion by lags who took over Strangeways jail in Manchester in 1990.
The Ministry of Justice said: “Prisons should be safe places where criminals can reform and our dedicated prison officers do a fantastic job in often difficult circumstances.
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"But clearly there are challenges that the system and individual prisons face which is why the Government is taking firm action.
"We passed our target to recruit an additional 2,500 prison officers seven months early and are investing in new technology and 300 specialist sniffer dogs to stem the flow of drugs and mobile phones into prisons.
"There is more to be done but we are committed to making sure prison officers can focus their efforts on turning around offenders’ lives.”
Prisons Uncovered: Out of Control? Is on ITV at 10.45pm tonight (Monday).
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