Prisons: The good, the bad and the ugly

 Dads learn parenting skills

Dads jailed at Altcourse explored their emotions and learned how to be good parents – both inside prison and after release – on a four-week course called ‘Fathers Inside’ run by the charity SIG Safe Ground.

At their final session they invited guests, including the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Councillor Barbara Murray, who participated in the warm-up exercises used to get these strangers to work together. They talked through life experiences that had led them to prison and discussed how to build family relationships.

The class performed a play they scripted, showing an ex-serviceman suffering from PTSD following a horrific experience in Afghanistan, and the failures of everyone to help. He ended up addicted, struggling, then in jail. It was based on the experience of a friend of one of the performers. 

The men performed poems expressing suppressed feelings, which have now been published. Around the walls were sheets describing their discussions. The scheme was coordinated by Ailsa and Lynne, along with Dan, Emma, and Linda, plus visiting poet Toria Garbutt and Linda, a family counsellor and facilitator. The men were Carl, Peter, Darren, Daz, Michael A, Kyle, Lee, Michael D, Craig, Imran, Ste, and Nathan – and whilst Daz was unable to attend on the day, he was a key part of the team.

Clink, Clink! Brixton restaurant toasts survival

A groundbreaking restaurant which welcomes members of the public inside a jail for gourmet meals prepared by prisoners has escaped the threat of closure. After a bidding process ordered by the Ministry of Justice, The Clink Charity won a new five-year contract to operate its eatery in the old Governor’s house at HMP Brixton. 

The announcement last month came as a relief for the charity, after it had been forced to close three of its four prison restaurants – at High Down, Styal, and Cardiff – in recent years. The Clink trains prisoners to work in catering and hospitality after release.

I swear it wasn’t me, it was the otters

A high-value theft from inside a prison is under investigation – but it seems prisoners are not to blame. Eleven koi carp, a famously expensive ornamental fish, went missing over two occasions from a pond at Hydebank Wood in Northern Ireland, which holds women and young men.

Jon Burrows, an Ulster Unionist Party politician, asked whether inmates might have been involved, saying: “For 11 carp to simply vanish over two occasions is simply strange. Also, were prisoners responsible for feeding these fish? … I would be concerned that these fish may have been stolen, given their potential value.”

But Naomi Long, Northern Ireland’s Justice Minister, dismissed the idea, saying: “After discussion with relevant agencies, it is believed that a predator such as a mink, heron or otters may have taken them, as they have been seen in the area.”

She admitted the pond lacked CCTV or netting. The most expensive-ever koi carp was sold at auction in Japan for £1.4 million in 2018.

texts threatening her children so she could claim in her defence that she was forced to commit the crime. The 40-year-old, who worked in the prison’s education department, was jailed for five years and two months at Sheffield Crown Court for possessing cocaine and ketamine with intent to supply.

• At HMP Hewell, a female officer used her access to prison computers to check on the wellbeing of her boyfriend who was serving a sentence in HMP Birmingham. She then convinced two women to visit him, smuggle cannabis in with them, and get him to swallow it. When they tried it for the third month running, he could not swallow the drugs and they were caught. All three women are awaiting sentencing.

• A 45-year-old former officer was cleared of misconduct in a public office, having taken a former inmate to a pub where other officers were gathering after they had begun a two-month relationship. She met the man whilst he was detained at HMP Humber, where she worked. She told the others in the group having lunch that he was a contractor. Letters between the two were submitted in evidence, as well as a request for a transfer that the man had submitted to the prison. She told the jury in her trial that their relationship did not begin until she had resigned from the Prison Service, and the jury unanimously found her not guilty.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: “The overwhelming majority of Prison Service staff are hardworking and honest, but as these cases show, we will always take robust action when officers fall below our high standards.”

Serco remains in charge

Serco Group PLC has been awarded a new £500 million, 12-year contract by the Ministry of Justice to manage HMP Dovegate in Staffordshire. The company has operated the category B men’s prison since 2001, but the renewed contract was issued following ‘a competitive procurement process’. The contract included new delivery centers for education and additional job opportunities.

Stabbed by the son he never knew

A man serving a prison sentence in HMP Perth was attacked by a man he had never met before, only to find out later it was his own son committing the assault.

The 25-year-old attacker was serving a sentence in Perth when he found out that his father, who he had never met, was on the same wing. He had been told by his mother that the man had inflicted violence on her, and so resolved to take revenge. In July this year, he attacked him and slashed him with a knife.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard that whilst the older man knew he had a son from the woman, he had never met him and had no idea that he might be in prison. When the father walked into the son’s cell to ask to borrow a cup to have a drink, the son attacked him without hesitation. 

The attacker pleaded guilty to attempted murder. Gordon Martin KC, defence solicitor advocate, told Judge Lord Renucci that his client’s motivation was the account his mother gave him of the alleged abuse carried out when his client was a baby. The attacker is due to be sentenced on 9 January, after the judge asked for further reports. 

Big Hoose gets listing as closure looms

Barlinnie prison in Glasgow, known locally as the Big Hoose, has been granted Category A listed status, meaning its structure is likely to be preserved after it ceases to be used as a jail.

The prison, which opened in 1882, has recently been condemned by inspectors for its “wretchedly poor state”. Its 1,300 residents are set to be moved to a new purpose-built jail, HMP Glasgow, which is under construction and due to open in 2028 at a cost of around £1 billion.

Historic Environment Scotland, the agency which awarded the listing following a public consultation, said its decision “will ensure that what makes this building special can be considered in any decisions about its future”.

The Category A listing means that Barlinnie has been recognised as one of Scotland’s most significant structures. The listing covers the oldest surviving parts of the establishment including five accommodation halls, the chapel, the former infirmary and store building, the gatehouse, work sheds, and surviving parts of the early boundary wall.

Woman choked on underwear

A coroner last month criticised the detention of people in prison when they should be in secure mental health units, after a woman died from choking on a piece of underwear at HMP Bronzefield.

Diana Grant, 42, was on medication for paranoid schizophrenia when, in November 2021, she stabbed her mother three times at home. She was arrested for attempted murder and remanded in custody. Despite an urgent referral being made by the courts, alerting the prison to be aware of her risk of self-harm or suicide, she was allocated to a standard wing and cell at Bronzefield where she was found dead the following day. 

Her mother, Annette Trotman, said: “It was a shocking catalogue of failings by state services that failed her completely when she needed their help at a point of crisis.”

Staff rang off because NHS took too long

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has been ordered to apologise after its staff hung up on an NHS helpline because it took too long to be answered – leaving a prisoner without medical attention. 

The inmate stopped taking a prescribed medication after experiencing side effects, and asked to see a nurse. They were not seen for two weeks. Prison staff then told the inmate that since the nurse was no longer available, a call had been placed instead to NHS 24 – a Scottish service, accessed by dialing 111 – but it had been ended “due to the expected wait time”.

The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman told the SPS to apologise.

More prison staff appear in court as 1,000 staff have been disciplined during the year

 Three more prison staff have been arrested or convicted in relation to criminal offences – while new figures from the Ministry of Justice showed that over 1,000 prison or probation staff in England and Wales have faced disciplinary action in the latest 12-month period.

In separate cases: 

A 31-year-old woman was handed a suspended sentence after admitting to having a flirtatious relationship with an inmate while working as a prison officer at HMP Lowdham Grange in May 2023. She pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office. Her six-month prison term was suspended for 18 months.

A former male prison officer at HMP Manchester was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years plus a six-year extended licence period, for what a judge described as “sadistic” suggestions when he believed he was communicating with children on line. As the victims could not be traced he was convicted of attempted abuse rather than actual abuse. 

Just after Christmas, Guernsey Police confirmed that a 34-year-old male member of staff at the island’s prison, Les Nicolles, has been arrested on “suspicion of supplying a controlled substance”. Prison authorities said he had been suspended pending further investigation, and he is free on unconditional bail whilst the authorities pursue the matter.

Meanwhile, new MoJ figures showed that between April 2024 and March 2025, a total of 1,286 prison and probation staff in England and Wales were subject to conduct and disciplinary action, with 939 ending up being disciplined – with such action ranging from verbal warnings up to dismissal. Their offences range from minor infractions up to serious rule breaches such as those for which have people end up in court.

During the 12-month period, 405 staff were dismissed – of whom 276 were male and 129 were female. The total marks an increase from the figure of 287 in the previous 12 months. A spokesperson for the Prison Service said: “Where staff fall below our exacting standards, we do not hesitate to take robust action.”

Three prison workers deny allowing inmate's death

 Three prison workers have denied responsibility for the death of an inmate while he was being restrained and moved to another cell, a court heard.

Christopher Pearson, 42, died after suffering a cardiac arrest while under their care at HMP Leeds on 10 September 2021.

Custody night manager Leanne Hollis, 38, from Barnsley, pleaded not guilty to misconduct in a public office and care workers Aimee Adam, 33, and Merjury Chitadzinga, 49, both pleaded not guilty to wilful neglect at Leeds Crown Court earlier.

All three were granted unconditional bail and are due to stand trial at the same court on 3 July 2028.

The court heard that while Pearson was being relocated to another cell, excessive force was used and the methods were "inappropriate and dangerous".

Both Adam, of Creswell, Worksop, and Chitadzinga, of Swinton, Rotherham, also failed to assess Pearson properly and check on his "health and wellbeing", the court was told.

According to the campaign group Inquest, Pearson had mental health problems and the prison had placed him on a safety plan for vulnerable prisoners at risk of suicide or self-harm.

Recorder of Leeds Judge Guy Kearl KC told the defendants they must stay in touch with their barristers as their trial date may be called sooner

Prison worker jailed over relationship with inmate

 A woman who worked delivering rehabilitation courses to male prisoners has been jailed after starting an inappropriate relationship with an inmate and smuggling illicit items into the jail.

Jane Littler took spice, painkiller tablets and other prohibited items into HMP Garth in Lancashire, the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit said.

The 41-year-old, from Chorley, admitted misconduct but denied possession with intent to supply controlled drugs.

She was sentenced to five and a half years at Preston Crown Court.

Littler began working at the jail in August 2014, delivering programmes aimed at reducing violence.

An investigation began in August 2021 after a mobile phone was discovered in a prisoner's cell.

Analysis revealed more than 2,000 contacts between the device and Littler.

Later searches uncovered further evidence of inappropriate contact and prohibited items linked to the staff member.

On 5 October 2021, Littler was arrested at her home address.

Officers seized mobile phones, handwritten notes, and packages containing substances including spice and 768 painkiller tablets.

Letters recovered from her address also indicated the inappropriate relationship with the prisoner.

Det Insp Brian Morley said the case "demonstrates the serious consequences of corruption within prisons".

"Staff are entrusted with supporting rehabilitation and protecting the public, but when that trust is abused, it undermines the integrity of the entire system," he said.

"These actions fuel organised crime, put other prisoners and staff at risk, and erode public confidence in the justice system."

Female prison support worker jailedFemale prison support worker jailed

 A prison support worker who had an affair with an inmate has been jailed by Bristol Crown Court for six months. The 38-year-old woman began a relationship with the man while she was working at Leyhill open prison in November 2023. 

Their affair continued until June 2024 when an investigation into the pair was launched by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU). She has now been jailed after admitting misconduct in a public office. 

The SWROCU said the woman was working as an operational support grade (OSG) member of staff, supporting the work of prison officers. The inmate involved was serving a sentence for conspiracy to supply class A drugs and blackmail. The couple exchanged phone calls and text messages, with the prisoner using a phone he was not allowed to have, and would spend time at hotels and restaurants when he was on day release.

She also arranged for money to be deposited in the inmate’s prison bank account using his bank card details. PC Mark Paterson, corruption investigator at SWROCU, said: “Her role as an OSG meant she had a duty to conduct herself in a responsible, respectable and trustworthy manner. Instead, her conduct amounted to a serious breach of trust.”

He added: “SWROCU will continue to work determinedly with the HMPPS Counter Corruption Unit and the prisons in bringing to justice employees who engage in any form of criminal conduct. It simply will not be tolerated – they will be identified, investigated and prosecuted.”

Prison worker jailed over relationship with inmate

 A prison worker who had an inappropriate relationship with an inmate at a Lincolnshire prison has been jailed for 12 months.

Nikki Croft, 51, admitted the misconduct while serving at HMP Morton Hall, a Category C men's prison, near Lincoln.

Croft, who referred to the prisoner by the initials LZ, also admitted providing 11 illicit SIM cards, Lincoln Crown Court was told.

The defendant, whose address can not be disclosed because of a court order, admitted two charges of misconduct in public office.

Declan Austin, prosecuting, said Croft began working at the prison in 2022 and was employed as a civilian inclusion support coordinator, helping inmates with learning difficulties.

"She became infatuated with him (LZ) and accepts she started speaking to him in December 2022, into January 2023," the prosecutor said.

The court heard Croft had been placed under investigation and suspended after rumours began to circulate within the prison, but she denied any wrongdoing at "a challenge meeting" in February 2023.

Croft subsequently had the suspension removed and resumed working at the prison in April 2023 after the investigation proved inconclusive.

However, the court heard suspicions were again raised after she continued to stay in contact with LZ.

"She sent photographs of herself to him, who by this time was at HMP Lincoln, and were subsequently found in his cell," Austin said.

"They were photos of her in sexually motivated positions, in underwear," the prosecutor added.

The court heard one of the sim cards had also been used 9,477 times by inmates.

'Infatuated'

In mitigation, Neil Sands asked why a woman of "adult years" had succumbed to an inmate.

"It is clear in this case there was an infatuation," he said, adding her previous relationships had left her "extremely vulnerable".

Passing sentence on Friday, Recorder Luke Blackburn said Croft's conduct had left her vulnerable to blackmail and corruption for which she had received training.

The judge told Croft: "You formed a relationship with a prisoner, you became infatuated with him.

"So much so you sent him pictures and had a pillow at your home with a picture of him.

"The risks of that are obvious to anyone."

Female prison officer pleads not guilty to misconduct

A 29-year-old woman who worked as a prison officer at HMP Peterborough pleaded not guilty to a range of offences at Cambridge Crown Court earlier this month. 

The woman stands accused of entering into improper relationships whilst in the prison, as well as drug-smuggling and money-laundering. Five men have been accused alongside her.

The offences are alleged to have occurred in 2020 and 2021, with the intimate relationships beginning in June 2020 and the smuggling starting in July that year. All of these are suspected of being continued until April 2021. The alleged money-laundering is said to have involved the use of various bank accounts to move money that was being used to finance the drugs operation.

Three defendants were released on bail. The others charged are due to appear in court later in January. A trial for all the defendants has been scheduled for Huntingdon Crown Court in April 2027. 

government spending £4m a year on empty prison

 HMP Dartmoor in Devon was shut down in July 2024 after high levels of radioactive radon gas were detected.

The government is spending £4m a year on the upkeep of a prison that has not held any inmates for 18 months, a report from MPs has revealed.

HMP Dartmoor was shut down in July 2024 after levels of radioactive radon gas higher than the recommended limit were detected, resulting in the relocation of more than 600 prisoners.

Since then, the category C facility in Princetown, Devon, has remained empty and on Wednesday a report from the House of Commons public accounts committee revealed the 11-year lease, which ends in 2033, is costing HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) £4m a year.

The report called the spend a "needless waste of taxpayers' money" and urged HMPPS, which is also committed to £68m in improvement costs to the jail, to "set out what it has learned from the failures of its decision making" and "ensure that any future contracts deliver value for money".

The prison service argued that the new lease had to be signed due to a prison capacity crisis, however, MPs did not accept that as an excuse for what they called "poor commercial decisions".

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "This government inherited a crisis in our prisons system, where prisons were on the brink of collapse, threatening a total collapse in law and order.

"This government is addressing the prisons crisis through building 14,000 new prison places, and the Sentencing Bill which will deliver punishment that works."

The Health and Safety Executive is currently investigating the radon levels at HMP Dartmoor, with a decision on whether to reopen the prison to be made once results have been delivered.

Two rapists among Met officers not properly vetted

 Two serial rapists were among 131 officers and staff in the Metropolitan Police who committed crimes or misconduct after they were not properly vetted, a review has found.

David Carrick, one of the UK's worst sex offenders, and Cliff Mitchell were among the police officers who were not properly checked. Mitchell was allowed to join the force in 2020 after a vetting panel, partly aimed at improving diversity, overturned a decision to reject him despite a previous rape allegation.

The cases were revealed in a vetting review of the 10 years up to the end of March 2023.

Assistant Commissioner Rachel Williams acknowledged that the "public will be really concerned" by the lapse in vetting procedures.

She added that the report was part of "ongoing work to demand the highest standards across the Met".

Other serious crimes committed by officers and staff included drug use, violent attacks and affray.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: "Abandoning vetting checks on officers was a dereliction of the Met's duty to keep London safe.

"I have asked the Chief Inspector of Constabulary to carry out an inspection as I seek to restore trust in the force's ability to protect and serve the public."

Carrick, who was given 37 life sentences for his crimes, was not properly vetted during a vetting renewal in 2017 – he first joined the Met in 2001 – with checks failing to reveal an allegation of domestic abuse against him.

Mitchell, who carried out a "campaign of rape" on two victims, was recruited despite an earlier allegation of raping a child.

His recruitment was initially refused after failing the vetting process due to the allegation but his application was looked at by a vetting panel, which has since been abolished.

Part of its aim was to tackle disproportionality in the workforce. The panel, first established in 2018, overturned decisions to refuse vetting of 114 officers and staff, of whom 25 went on to commit misconduct or have been accused of a crime.

The review said senior officers faced political pressure and had to meet recruitment targets or lose funding to other forces.

The review published on Thursday found that thousands of police officers and staff were not properly checked amid pressure during a national recruitment drive from July 2019 to March 2023.

Senior officers at the Met chose not to meet national guidelines amid a scramble to find more than 4,500 recruits.

The deviations from standard practice meant thousands of references were not checked, and shortcuts in vetting led to there being some officers and staff who should not have been in the force. This contributed to "police-perpetrated harm" and damaged public trust, the review said.

Under the Police Uplift Programme, forces in England and Wales were expected to recruit 20,000 officers within three and a half years to replace those cut during austerity, and funding was ringfenced and lost if targets were not met.

"Senior leaders embarked on an assertive approach towards hiring and vetting practices in order to meet what would become unachievable recruitment targets and grow the Metropolitan Police Service's (MPS) workforce at pace," the report stated.

"The focus appeared to be on speed and output; this unintentionally compromised integrity."

The report said 5,073 officers and staff were not properly vetted, of whom 4,528 had no Special Branch vetting checks, 431 had no Ministry of Defence checks and 114 had a vetting refusal overturned by a Met internal panel.

Another 3,338 who were due for vetting renewal underwent only limited checks.

The Met estimated that about 1,200 people who joined the force may have had their vetting refused under normal practices, out of around 27,300 applications.

Separately, 17,355 officers and staff did not have their references properly checked, if at all, between 2018 and April 2022.

The Met has not checked each of these files, but estimates that about 250 of these employees would not have got a job if their references had been checked.

'Farcical situation'

The review found that senior officers had faced political pressure and had to meet recruitment targets or lose funding to other forces.

The report concluded: "There were deviations from policy and practice, overconfidence in the ability to recruit at scale and lack of resources in vetting increased risk."

Since Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley took on the UK's top policing job in September 2022, about 1,500 officers have been sacked in what has been dubbed as a clean-up of the force.

Williams said: "In publishing this report today, we are being open and transparent about past vetting and recruitment practices that led, in some cases, to unsuitable people joining the Met.

"We have been honest with Londoners on many occasions about previous shortcomings in our professional standards approach.

"We found that some historical practices did not meet the strengthened hiring and vetting standards we have today. We identified these issues ourselves and have fixed them quickly while making sure any risk to the public has been properly and effectively managed."

She added: "The Met recruits hundreds of officers and staff every year, the overwhelming majority of exemplary character who are dedicated to protecting the public."

Paula Dodds, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said: "Today's report illustrates a farcical situation in which hitting a numerical target of recruits has taken precedence over normal checks and balances.

"The good, brave and hard-working colleagues we represent are the first to say that the small minority of officers who are not fit to serve should not be in the police service."

Can the Met rebuild trust?

Analysis by Sima Kotecha, senior UK correspondent

In recent years, critics have questioned how so many "bad apples" have been able to find employment in Britain's largest force.

The review's findings won't be surprising to them. Some have raised serious doubts about those very vetting processes, accusing them in the past of being "slack".

The concern now is how many who shouldn't be in the force because they would have failed the checks that weren't made, are still there?

The Met says the numbers of those are small but some will argue it only takes one person to break the law and do something horrendous such as commit rape or murder.

These revelations could fuel further mistrust in the force - and some Londoners are likely to ask how they can have confidence in their officers when these errors were made.

The Met police will hope their response to the review that they've strengthened their processes since the mistakes were made will ease some of those worries.

 Unfortunately, due to technical issues, we’re currently experiencing some delays in getting new content onto the blog. That said, we have plenty planned and are excited to share it as soon as everything is back on track. Thank you for your patience — we’ll do our best to keep things moving and bring you updates soon.

Jails boost war effort

As I have said multiple times, the prison service operates less like a system of rehabilitation and more like a human warehouse—a modern department of slavery hidden behind legal language. Instead of focusing on education, support, and genuine reintegration into society, prisons rely heavily on the cheap labour of the people they detain.

Prisoners are routinely paid as little as £10–£20 per week to carry out work that, outside prison walls, would earn a proper wage. This work is not limited to basic maintenance or voluntary skill-building tasks. It often includes outside contract labour: manufacturing metal cages and equipment for the prison service itself, producing items for the armed forces, and working for private companies such as JJ Sports, among others. These are not symbolic jobs—they generate real economic value, yet the people doing the work have no meaningful say and receive wages that would be illegal in any other setting.

Supporters of this system argue that prison labour teaches discipline and provides structure. However, this argument collapses when the pay is exploitative and the skills gained are narrow, repetitive, and often irrelevant to real employment opportunities after release. When labour is compulsory or refusal leads to punishment or loss of privileges, it stops being “rehabilitation” and starts resembling forced work dressed up as reform.

The deeper issue is profit. The prison system saves money and creates value by underpaying prisoners, while private companies benefit from labour that is cheaper than minimum wage and free from standard worker protections. Prisoners cannot unionise, cannot negotiate, and cannot realistically refuse. This creates a system where incarceration itself becomes economically useful, raising serious questions about whether justice or efficiency is the real priority.

I have said my piece on this system as it stands. Now I am going to introduce a new article published in Inside Time, the national newspaper for prisoners. The article adds further weight to these concerns, offering insight from within the prison system itself and exposing how prison labour is justified, who truly benefits from it, and why calling it “rehabilitation” may be one of the most misleading narratives in the modern justice system.

"Prisoner works on military equipment for the MoD at HMP Lindholme'

• Prisoners will make more kit for the Armed Forces
• Defence spending raised in face of Russian threat
• MoJ pledges more workshop jobs and longer hours

Prisoners will be put to work making equipment for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) as the UK increases its military budget in the face of the threat from Russia.

Plans published by HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) in December revealed that workshops in jails will turn out equipment for the Armed Forces, including camouflage nets, metal posts, and picket drivers.

Prisoner works on military equipment for the MoD at HMP Lindholme’

It comes after the UK Government pledged to spend a bigger share of the nation’s wealth on the military. In November’s Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves set out plans to increase defence spending from 2.3 per cent of Gross Domestic Product in 2024 to 2.6 per cent by April 2027. Last summer’s Strategic Defence Review said Britain “faces a new era of threat” and must “pivot to a new way of war”. US President Donald Trump has told Europe, including the UK, to give Ukraine more help in its war against Russia.

In an ‘Action Plan’ published in November, the Ministry of Justice said that “HMPPS are … expanding the range of items and volume of products manufactured for the Ministry of Defence”. The plan gave examples of items that will be produced, and said more workshop space would be made available.

It builds on a deal struck between the MoD and HMPPS in 2014, known as Project Claustrum (Latin for ‘prison’), which has seen prisoners at more than 25 jails put in more than 1 million man-hours of labour, making and repairing equipment including sandbags, target boards, wooden pallets, hydraulic jacks, edge protectors, and burner boxes. It is said to have saved taxpayers L2 million.

The Action Plan was a response to criticism from inspectors that too many prisoners spend their days locked in their cells due to a lack of places in work or education. The plan says more jobs will be offered in Prison Industries workshops, making more items and forging links with more private companies.

In a further change, trials at five Category C prisons will see men working a 31-hour week – in contrast to the usual pattern in jails where even ‘full time’ work occupies 22 hours a week or less. The ‘Working Week Project’ began at HMP Ranby in August 2025 and will be running at four more sites by April, aiming “to mirror work in the community as far as possible”."

A lot of people will say that prisoners deserve to work for free. That punishment alone justifies exploitation. But if rehabilitation is truly the goal—as the prison service constantly claims—then this logic makes no sense. Two wrongs do not make a right. You cannot claim to be preparing people for life after prison while treating their labour as if it has no value.

If I owned a business on the outside and paid members of the public £10–£20 a week to do full-time work, I would be arrested. My business would be shut down, and I would rightly be accused of running a slave labour operation. Yet when the same thing happens inside prison walls, it is accepted, legalised, and quietly normalised. The armed forces and the Ministry of Defence benefit from this labour. Private companies benefit from it too. The only difference is that the workforce is imprisoned and powerless.

This is not rehabilitation. It is exploitation with a uniform on it.

If prisoners were paid minimum wage, or even something close to it, the argument would at least be different. But they are not. Most prisoners receive between £15 and £20 a week, and in some prisons it is pushed as low as £10. That amount does not reflect skill, effort, or risk. It barely covers basic necessities inside, let alone allows someone to save for release, support family, or feel any sense of dignity in their work.

Take my own job as an example. I am a bio-cleaner. This is hazardous work—cleaning environments that carry real health risks. On the outside, this kind of work would be paid properly and carried out with strict safety standards. Inside prison, we are paid £5 per job simply because we are prisoners. Even worse, we often struggle to get the correct equipment, including basic PPE. So not only are we paid next to nothing, but the prison system is actively putting our lives at risk to save money.

This raises a serious question about value. If the work is important enough to be done, if it is dangerous enough to require protective equipment, and if it produces real benefit for institutions and companies, then why is the labour behind it treated as disposable?

So I will end this with a simple question, one that cuts through every excuse and justification:

Would you work for £20 a week?

Because if the answer is no, then the system cannot honestly be called fair, rehabilitative, or just. It can only be called what it is: exploitation.

Chelmsford: Prison officer admits relationship with inmate

 A 48-year-old prison tutor has admitted an inappropriate relationship with a prisoner at HMP Chelmsford.

Melissa Murphy, formerly Melissa O'Brien, of Dorset Close in Chelmsford, was charged with misconduct in a public office after letters were discovered sent between herself and an inmate.

Murphy was first arrested on 11 December 2023 and she was terminated from her role as a teacher helping train those at HMP Chelmsford for employment after their release.

After a thorough investigation she was charged via postal requisition on 12 February 2025 and, on 28 November at a hearing in Chelmsford Crown Court, she pleaded guilty to one count of misconduct in a public office.

Detective Constable Becky Sparrow, the officer in the case, said:

“Murphy abused a position of trust by forming this inappropriate relationship.

“By definition, anyone held in prison is in a vulnerable position. It is crucial staff and prison officers do not put those they are required to help in positions such as this – she potentially put both of them at risk of harm through these actions.

“We now wait to hear what sentence the courts will pass.”

‘Open to exploitation’

Murphy had worked at the prison for four years, first meeting the inmate in the summer of 2023 and claimed she received the first letter from the prisoner in November 2023.

Instead of reporting the contact, Murphy replied and the pair exchanged several letters suggesting they had begun a relationship.

Concerns were raised when another member of prison staff tried to enter a classroom that only Murphy and the prisoner were in, only to find the door locked from the inside and her keys being removed from her person.

Her role required her keys to stay attached to her person at all times to prevent any prisoners accessing these and potentially escaping.

After this incident was reported Murphy was arrested and further letters detailing their exchanges were discovered at her home address, as well as a photo of the prisoner in her bedroom.

DC Sparrow added:

“The integrity of everyone working within the criminal justice system is required to keep prisoners and the public safe.

“By entering into this relationship, Murphy compromised that integrity, exploited a vulnerable man and left herself open to exploitation too.

“We worked closely with the security department and staff at HMP Chelmsford throughout this investigation to ensure this case was as strong as possible, and left her with no option but to plead guilty.”

Prison officer jailed over inmate relationship

 A prison officer who had an inappropriate relationship with an inmate and played a part in a conspiracy to smuggle cannabis vapes into jail has been jailed.

Megann Gibson, 26, triggered more than 100 reports of concern from colleagues over five months while working at HMP Wealstun, near Wetherby, in 2023, Leeds Crown Court heard.

A previous hearing was told she had engaged in "sexual communications" with a member of an organised crime group and exchanged 900 WhatsApp messages with his mother.

Gibson, of Stornaway Square, Hull, admitted misconduct in public office and possession of cannabis and was jailed for 12 months.

In total102 reports about Gibson were received, with many about the defendant spending too much time with prisoners, going into their cells and colleagues unable to find her while on-shift, the court heard.

Gibson denied taking anything into the Category C prison for the prisoner, despite his letters thanking her for the vapes she had given him.

He also wrote he had "enjoyed their kisses", despite Gibson denying any sexual activity.

After her arrest, £1,000 was found inside her home "capable of supporting the assertion that she was being paid", the court heard.

Gibson told police officers she had withdrawn the money to pay for a tattoo, but no evidence supporting this claim was found.

Officers also found messages between Gibson and other members of the organised crime group, the case heard, suggesting they had met at a pub in Leeds.

There was also evidence that Gibson had travelled to Sheffield to meet the prisoner's mother, who had acted as a "go-between".

The court heard the offending took place between 24 April and 18 May 2023, with Gibson also seen in her uniform in her car smoking cannabis.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: "The overwhelming majority of Prison Service staff are hardworking and honest, but as this case shows, we will always take robust action when officers fall below our high standards."

'Extraordinary' culture at prison where inmate died

 A prison director has told an inquest he observed an "extraordinary" culture of "staff not caring" at a jail where an inmate was found dead in his cell.

Matthew Osborne, 39, was found hanging in a cell on the segregation unit in HMP Lowdham Grange on 25 November 2023.

He was the fifth prisoner that year to be discovered in that manner at the jail in Nottinghamshire.

An inquest at Nottingham Coroner's Court heard he had not been checked on for nearly two hours before his body was found.

On Tuesday the court heard from Ian Whiteside, now an operations director of prisons for Sodexo, who was director of Lowdham Grange at the time of Osborne's death.

Sodexo had taken over running the jail on 16 February 2023 from Serco in what was the first direct transfer of a prison between private companies in England and Wales, but jurors were told that within six weeks three prisoners were found hanging in their cells.

'Severe weaknesses'

Mr Whiteside said he was not involved with the transfer process or the prison itself until he was brought in as interim director on 11 October.

That day, Ricky Crosher was also found in his cell, the jury was told.

Mr Whiteside said he was brought in because of previous concerns raised about the prison's management, with numerous improvement notices having been issued by the government.

"The prison was struggling with staffing and [running the jail], and I think both the prison service and Sodexo believed a change in leadership was probably required," he said.

"There were concerns from the previous deaths we had severe weaknesses."

On arrival, Mr Whiteside said he was worried by the way staff behaved towards prisoners and colleagues, saying there was "a culture of staff not caring".

"There was a culture of staff behaviour that I found extraordinary," he said.

"I had never come across behaviours like it in my 30 years [working in prisons]."The court heard Osborne - who was known to have a history of making ligatures - was under a process called assessment, care in custody and teamwork (ACCT), and required three checks per hour.

He had also been placed in the prison's segregation unit on 3 October, but jurors were told records of daily checks were incomplete, and that reviews on keeping him in isolation were not done properly.

Osborne had no phone, radio or TV in his cell, where he was kept for at least 22 hours a day, and ACCT checks were in some cases documented but not carried out.

On 25 November the court heard no checks were made from 14:32 until he was found at 16:22.

Mr Whiteside said he was "very concerned" about the segregation unit's ability to function from the point he arrived.

"I really felt that the management structure wasn't effective in delivering a safe segregation unit," he said.

In December 2023 the Ministry of Justice took over the running of Lowdham Grange, initially on a temporary basis before the move was made permanent the following year.

When asked by area coroner Laurinda Bower about efforts to tackle the jail's problems when he arrived, Mr Whiteside said: "The prison was in real difficulties, and I think at that point it was probably beyond the capabilities of a private organisation."The court also heard from Jasmine Osborne, who said her brother's death had "shattered" his family.

Describing him as a keen sportsman, she said he "struggled with his mental health from his teens" but travelling "gave him peace and helped with his mental state".

She said he had had a difficult time in foster care, where "like the prison service later he wasn't given the support he needed".

Her brother "deteriorated rapidly" after he was transferred to Lowdham Grange on 20 June 2023, she told jurors, but said the family was did not know about his ACCT and what they could do to help.

"We didn't know how much distress [he] was in until after he died," she said.

"It is clear to all of Matthew's family that Lowdham Grange was the most unsafe prison he'd ever been to, and we just wish he had never been sent there."

The inquest continues.

41 deaths at parc

 THERE HAS NOW BEEN 41 DEATHS AT HMP PARC SINCE THE START OF 2022.

THAT NUMBER IS WAY HIGHER THAN ANY FIGURE FROM ANY OTHEE PRISON IN BRITAIN.

THIS CANNOT CONTINUE.

WE ARE CALLING ON Keir Starmer & David Lammy TO STRIP G4S OF THEIR CONTRACT AND END THEIR NEGLIGANCE MANSLAUGHTER CAMPAIGN

Search for prisoner who absconded at Christmas

 Police have appealed for help to find a man who absconded from an open prison at Christmas.

Thames Valley Police said Mahad Elmi left HMP Spring Hill, at Grendon Underwood, near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, overnight on Christmas Day or early on Boxing Day.

The force said the 27-year-old no longer had "any authority or lawful licence to be in the community and is therefore considered unlawfully at large".

Police described him as 5ft 8ins tall, of medium build with medium-length black hair, a beard and brown eyes. He was known to have links to London, including to Lambeth and Wembley.

The force said it was working with the Metropolitan Police to find Elmi.

Det Sgt Matthew French, of Buckinghamshire's Priority Crime Team, said: "If you see Elmi, do not approach him and call 999 instead."

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "Absconding is a serious criminal offence, and any defendant who commits this crime could face longer behind bars.

"The police are working urgently to recapture this individual, and we urge anyone with information to go to the police."

HMP Spring Hill, which has more than 300 inmates, is classed as Category D.

According to the Prison Service, that means it has "minimal security and allow(s) eligible prisoners to spend most of their day away from the prison on licence to carry out work, education or for other resettlement purposes".

Anyone who can help should call 101 quoting reference number 43250653119.

Former Prison Officer jailed for misconduct in a public office

Wednesday 26 March at Manchester Crown Court, a corrupt prison officer who formed a relationship with an inmate at HMP Forest Bank has been jailed. 

In early 2022, Niamh Lloyd's supervisors raised concerns after reports indicated that she was flirting and acting inappropriately with some prisoners, particularly Lee Makin.

Following an investigation by the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU) and HMPPS Counter Corruption Unit, detectives discovered that Makin had added a mobile number to his list of authorised contacts, which turned out to be Lloyd's. 

Throughout their relationship, detectives uncovered more than 40 hours of conversations between the two, which were sexual in nature. Lloyd disclosed operational information to Makin, and the pair transferred money to each other, planning for their future upon Makin's release. 

In one phone call, Makin asked Lloyd why she was in a relationship with him, to which she responded: "Thrill…because I don’t like doing what im told."

On 22 November 2022, Lloyd was arrested at an address in Wigan, where officers seized an unregistered mobile phone she was using to communicate with Makin.

On the same day, prison officers searched Lee Makin's cell at HMP Berwyn, where he had been transferred, and found multiple photographs of Lloyd, which were seized.

Detectives later received information that Lloyd had a second address in Bolton, where she was burning letters between her and Makin. Detectives attended the address and seized the burned remnants of the letters.

Despite being on police bail, Lloyd continued to contact Makin via third parties using false names. Detectives also discovered an invitation to her friends to a house party she was hosting to celebrate being charged, featuring a photograph of a woman in an orange jump suit sitting behind bars.

Niamh Lloyd, 22, of Coppice Drive, Wigan was jailed for 12 months after pleading guilty to misconduct in a public office.  

Makin, 40, was released from prison in July 2024 but was recalled for breaching his license conditions. He pled guilty to assisting/ encouraging misconduct in a public office and has received 12 months imprisonment.

Detective Inspector Brian Morley from the NWROCU's Prison Investigation Unit said: 

"This case highlights the serious consequences of corruption within the prison system. We will continue to work tirelessly with partner agencies and police forces across the region to root out such behaviour and ensure the integrity of our prisons. 

"We want to reassure the honest, dedicated, and hardworking prison staff that through partnership working with our prisons across the region, and HMPPS Counter Corruption Unit, we will continue to take action against people who choose to engage in corrupt activity. We encourage anyone who has information about corruption in our prisons to report it.” 

Woman, 26, jailed for misconduct in a public office

 A 26-year-old woman has been jailed for 12 months after she pleaded guilty to two counts of misconduct in a public office.

Aimee Duke, of Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes, joined HMP Five Wells in Wellingborough in April 2022 as a prison officer.

On August 12, 2022, Duke was the subject of a staff search whereby a piece of paper with one of the prisoner’s ID numbers was found in her purse.

Following this search, CCTV inside the prison was reviewed which uncovered her interacting inappropriately with several prisoners.

This included being on wings of the prison she wasn’t rostered to work on, carrying her own bag onto the prison wing which was prohibited, and entering prisoner’s cells when she had no professional reason to do so.

Duke was arrested at work on September 23, 2022, and her mobile phone was seized.

Numerous SMS messages between her and one of the prisoners were found on the device, indicating an inappropriate relationship between the pair.

In one message, the prisoner wrote “I want us to be together 100%”. In another, Duke messaged him “I can’t wait to see you”.

Duke was subsequently charged with four counts of misconduct in a public office. On May 1, at Northampton Crown Court she admitted two of the charges, however denied the other two offences.

She returned to the same court on Tuesday, August 26, where she was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for the two offences she admitted. A further two counts of misconduct in a public office were ordered to remain on file.

Lead investigator - Detective Inspector Richard Cornell from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit said: “Prison officers are in positions of authority and unfortunately, Aimee Duke used her position to form inappropriate relationships.

“Her actions do not reflect the fact that most prison staff are law-abiding citizens who carry out their duties to the highest standards.

“I hope this sentence sends a clear message to those who seek to undermine public trust while holding positions of authority that inappropriate behaviour such as in this case will be robustly dealt with using the full force of the law.”

Shout out to the viewers

 We’re really keen to hear your thoughts on our recent articles and to know how they resonated with you. Your views and feedback are incredibly important to us.

We’d also love to know if you’d be interested in learning more about what Christmas is really like in prison — the challenges, the emotions, and the realities that are often unseen.

If this is something you’d like to read more about, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can email us voiceforcons@gmail.com or contact us by Text, on 07934170845 and let us know your thoughts, and I’ll be happy to reply to you personally. Alternatively, I can respond directly on the blog so others can join the conversation too.

Merry Christmas

 I just want to take a moment to wish everyone who’s reading this blog a wonderful holiday season filled with love, laughter, and joy. Whether you're spending time with family, friends, or just enjoying a quiet moment, I hope these holidays bring you happiness and peace.

If you're into music and have been following my journey, I’d love for you to check out my fan page on Facebook: MusicBehindBarsDJFrankieD. There, you can stay updated on the latest tracks, mixes, and behind-the-scenes content that I’ve been working on. Your support means the world to me, and I can’t wait to continue sharing music with all of you in the upcoming year!

Thank you all for your love and support throughout the year. It truly means so much. Here's to more good music, good vibes, and a fantastic 2026 ahead!

Love you all! Stay safe and keep the music alive!

The Chair That Never Fills

 Christmas is two days away, and the house already knows it.

It hums differently at this time of year. The walls seem to hold their breath, waiting for voices they’ve heard a thousand times before. The kitchen fills with smells that feel older than me—food that tastes like tradition, like memory, like something passed down whether you asked for it or not. Chairs are pulled out, plates are counted, cutlery is lined up with care.

And then there’s the chair that doesn’t move.

There’s always one chair that never gets pulled out, never scraped across the floor, never claimed by a body. It sits there quietly, like a fact no one wants to say out loud. An absence so familiar it’s almost invisible.

Almost.

I’m twenty years old, and absence is the first thing I learned about family.

My uncle has been in prison for thirty-five years. I have only ever known him through visits and phone calls—through plastic chairs bolted to the floor, through voices distorted by crackling lines and time limits. I don’t know what it’s like to sit next to him on a sofa. I don’t know what his laugh sounds like when it isn’t filtered through concrete walls. I don’t know how it feels to have my uncle ruffle my hair, tease me, embarrass me, or show up when I need him.

I know his absence better than I know his presence.

When he was arrested, he was given an eight-year tariff. Eight years. That number was supposed to mean something. It was supposed to be a promise, or at least a boundary. Eight years until he could come home. Eight years until life could begin again.

I didn’t exist yet. I wasn’t even an idea.

Thirty-five years later, he’s still inside.

Try to understand that. Try to really sit with it. Eight years turned into thirty-five. A sentence stretched and twisted until it no longer resembled justice at all. Until it became something else entirely—something slow, grinding, and quietly devastating.

People love labels. Prison is full of them. Offender. Inmate. Risk. File number. My uncle has worn many of them over the years, none of them telling the full story, none of them explaining what was stolen from him—or from us.

Because something was stolen.

I never got the uncle I was meant to have. Not the one who comes over on Christmas, not the one who watches films too loud or falls asleep halfway through them, not the one who tells stories I’ve already heard but pretend are new. I never got the kind of relationship people take for granted, the one that just happens because time and proximity allow it to.

He never got to watch me grow up. Never saw my awkward stages, my small victories, my mistakes. Never stood in the background of my life, quietly proud, quietly present.

And that loss doesn’t show up on any paperwork.

People talk about fairness like it’s abstract. Like it’s theoretical. But unfairness lives in the body. It lives in empty chairs and unanswered questions and a constant, dull ache that something fundamental is missing.

And we aren’t the only ones.

There are families everywhere like mine. Families who were told, It won’t be forever. Families who marked calendars and counted down years that kept moving further away. Prisoners who were told they’d be home for Christmas—and then missed thirty-five of them.

Imagine that. Imagine being promised a future and watching it dissolve year by year. Imagine time becoming something done to you instead of something you live.

My uncle missed everything.

He missed birthdays. He missed funerals. He missed the quiet moments that make a family a family. And then, in the span of six weeks, the world took even more from him.

His dad died.
His Grand mother died.
His great-niece died.

Three losses. Six weeks.

And he faced them alone.

No arms around him. No shared grief. No chance to stand at a grave and say goodbye. He grieved inside a cell while we grieved outside, all of us broken in different ways, all of us knowing something unbearable—that we couldn’t reach him, and he couldn’t reach us.

That kind of suffering doesn’t rehabilitate anyone.

It doesn’t heal. It doesn’t teach. It just wounds deeper.

And that’s what makes me angry.

Because prison is supposed to be about rehabilitation. That’s the word they use, the one that sounds clean and reasonable and humane. Rehabilitation. Helping people change. Helping people return to society better than they were before.

But what I’ve seen isn’t rehabilitation.

What I’ve seen is people reduced to numbers. Files stacked on desks. Human beings treated like inventory. Prisons that function less like places of growth and more like warehouses—storage units for lives that have been paused indefinitely.

Release doesn’t come when someone is ready. It comes when someone else decides they’re convenient.

The parole board doesn’t always care what the judge said. That’s one of the quiet truths no one likes to admit. Tariffs become suggestions. Sentences become flexible in only one direction—longer. If the numbers need to look a certain way, people stay inside. If someone doesn’t want to take responsibility, a door stays locked.

I’ve watched this happen.

My uncle once had a parole officer who barely met with him. No consistent meetings. No real understanding of who he was, what he’d done to change, or how he’d spent decades trying to better himself. Then, a week before his parole hearing, suddenly she appeared—long enough to write a report stating she didn’t believe he was ready for release.

A week.

That was enough for her to decide his future.

What kind of system allows that? What kind of justice lets someone with no real relationship, no real insight, hold that much power over a human life?

That isn’t justice.

It isn’t caution.

It’s cowardice.

And I’m tired of pretending otherwise.

The system doesn’t need to be fixed. Fixed implies it works but has flaws. This doesn’t work. It needs an overhaul. It needs to be torn down to its foundations and rebuilt with humanity at its core—because right now, humanity is the first thing it strips away.

As we speak, someone could be dying in a cell. Someone’s family could be going about their day, unaware that their world is about to collapse. Checks missed. Duties ignored. Silence where there should have been care.

And still, the paperwork will be neat.

Still, the numbers will add up.

Christmas will come, like it always does. We’ll gather. We’ll laugh when we’re supposed to. We’ll remember when it feels safe. And we’ll leave space for the one who isn’t there.

I look at that empty chair and feel something deeper than sadness.

I feel mourning for a family I never got to have.

I mourn the version of my life where my uncle was there—where his presence was ordinary, unremarkable, and constant. I mourn the ease of it. The normality. The way it should have been.

I mourn his life, too. The decades lost. The moments stolen. The fact that his name is spoken more in waiting rooms than living rooms.

And I’m angry. Angry that this has been normalized. Angry that absence has become routine. Angry that families like mine are expected to carry this quietly, politely, without disrupting the narrative that the system works.

It doesn’t.

It breaks people. It breaks families. And then it asks us to be grateful for what little it allows.

So yes, there is an empty chair at the table.

But it isn’t just empty.
It’s heavy.
It’s loud.
It holds everything that should have been there.

And until something changes, it always will.

The Ban on Paper, Mail Restrictions, and Misplaced Accountability at HMP Berwyn

 

The Ban on Paper, Mail Restrictions, and Misplaced Accountability at HMP Berwyn

HMP Berwyn has implemented a ban on paper alongside increasingly restrictive policies concerning incoming mail and photographs. These measures are presented as necessary steps to combat the ongoing problem of drugs, particularly synthetic substances such as Spice. However, when examined closely, these policies reveal serious flaws in logic, fairness, and accountability. Rather than addressing the root causes of drug trafficking within the prison, the ban on paper and associated restrictions unfairly punish prisoners and their families while allowing deeper institutional issues to go unchallenged.

At present, all non-legal mail entering HMP Berwyn is photocopied, including letters, greeting cards, children’s drawings, and personal correspondence. Original items are withheld, and prisoners receive only black-and-white photocopies. Legal mail remains exempt, but everything else is treated as a potential security risk. This policy effectively amounts to a ban on original paper entering the prison.

This ban has far-reaching consequences. Personal letters lose their individuality and emotional value when reduced to photocopies. Handwriting, texture, colour, and even scent—small but meaningful elements of human connection—are stripped away. Cards become indistinguishable sheets of copied paper. For prisoners, many of whom rely heavily on family contact for emotional stability and motivation, this loss is significant and deeply felt.

A Policy Built on Assumptions, Not Evidence

The justification for the ban on paper is the claim that drugs are being introduced through letters, cards, and photographs. While it is true that some substances can be absorbed into paper, the blanket nature of this ban raises serious questions. There has been no transparent presentation of evidence showing that family mail is the primary or even a significant source of drugs entering HMP Berwyn.

What makes this policy particularly difficult to accept is the level of physical security already in place. HMP Berwyn is equipped with sealed windows that do not open, reinforced by wire mesh, controlled entry points, and surveillance systems. These features are designed to prevent contraband from entering from outside sources. Given this, it is reasonable to ask how drugs are still circulating so widely if external entry points are so tightly controlled.

If drugs continue to enter despite these measures, then the issue cannot simply be blamed on families sending letters and cards. The ban on paper appears to be an easy response that shifts responsibility away from the institution and onto prisoners and their loved ones.

Security Begins From Within

If HMP Berwyn is serious about tackling drug use, then it must be willing to examine internal security breaches. This includes reviewing the conduct and oversight of staff, contractors, and external agencies operating within the prison.

Every day, a wide range of professionals move in and out of HMP Berwyn, including prison officers, probation officers, teachers, healthcare workers, and maintenance staff. This is not an accusation against all staff, many of whom carry out their duties professionally. However, it is unrealistic and unfair to assume that the only security risk comes from prisoners’ families while ignoring other possible routes.

True security requires transparency and accountability at all levels. By focusing almost exclusively on mail restrictions and a ban on paper, the prison avoids addressing uncomfortable questions about its own systems and practices.

The Impact on Families and Human Dignity

The ban on paper has a profound effect on prisoners’ families. Families are no longer trusted to send personal letters, cards, or photographs directly. Instead, photographs must be ordered through approved commercial providers such as FreePrints, Moonpig, or Card Factory.

This requirement places unnecessary financial strain on families, many of whom are already struggling. Not everyone can afford to use commercial printing services. For families with children, the impact is especially harsh. A child’s drawing or handwritten card cannot be sent directly, removing a vital emotional link between parent and child.

These restrictions dehumanise communication. Family contact becomes transactional, regulated, and impersonal. The message sent is clear: families are viewed as part of the problem rather than as a support system essential to rehabilitation.

Selective Enforcement and the Illusion of Control

While the prison enforces a strict ban on paper and family mail, its approach to drug enforcement within the wings raises serious concerns. Prison officers regularly observe prisoners openly practising their faith, yet no meaningful action is taken. At the same time, officers frequently target prisoners who are known not to take drugs and who are not involved in drug-related activity.

These prisoners are subjected to repeated cell searches, not based on intelligence or suspicion, but because they are unlikely to have contraband. Officers know these searches will result in nothing being found, which guarantees a “clean” result.

This practice allows the prison to create the appearance of effective control. On paper, it looks as though numerous searches are being conducted with minimal findings, suggesting that drug use is under control. In reality, this approach avoids confronting the real problem and allows drug activity to continue.

Statistics Over Truth

If officers were to repeatedly search individuals genuinely suspected of drug involvement and consistently find drugs, it would expose serious failures in prison management and security. Such findings would reflect badly on leadership and raise difficult questions during inspections and reviews.

Instead, by focusing on compliant prisoners, the prison protects its image. Statistics improve, reports look favourable, and the underlying issue remains unaddressed. This reliance on numbers rather than outcomes undermines trust and fairness.

Prisoners who follow the rules and avoid drugs are punished with repeated searches and increased restrictions, while those involved in drug activity often escape scrutiny. Over time, this discourages positive behaviour and reinforces the belief that fairness does not exist within the system.

The Ban on Paper as Collective Punishment

The ban on paper represents a form of collective punishment. Rather than targeting specific risks based on evidence and intelligence, the prison has chosen to restrict everyone. All prisoners and families are treated as potential smugglers, regardless of their conduct or history.

Collective punishment is not an effective security strategy. It breeds resentment, damages morale, and undermines cooperation. Prisoners who feel unfairly treated are less likely to engage positively with staff or rehabilitation programmes.

Moreover, the ban on paper contradicts the prison’s stated commitment to rehabilitation. Writing letters, receiving personal mail, and maintaining family bonds are fundamental to emotional well-being and reintegration into society.

Rehabilitation Undermined

Modern prison policy recognises that strong family ties reduce reoffending and support mental health. Yet the ban on paper directly undermines these goals. By stripping communication of its personal nature, the prison weakens one of the most effective tools for rehabilitation.

Rehabilitation depends on trust, fairness, and dignity. When prisoners see that restrictions are imposed broadly and without clear justification, confidence in the system erodes. The focus shifts from self-improvement to mere survival within an increasingly restrictive environment.

A Call for Honest Reflection and Reform

The situation at HMP Berwyn highlights a broader issue within the prison system: the tendency to prioritise appearance over effectiveness. The ban on paper and the photocopying of all non-legal mail may look decisive, but they fail to address the root causes of the drug problem.

If meaningful change is to occur, HMP Berwyn must be willing to look inward. This means reviewing internal security, examining staff procedures, and holding all parts of the institution to the same standard of scrutiny.

Until then, policies like the ban on paper will continue to harm prisoners and their families while providing only the illusion of control.

Conclusion

The ban on paper at HMP Berwyn is not a solution—it is a distraction. It shifts blame away from institutional responsibility and places it onto prisoners and their families, who are already among the most vulnerable.

Real security does not come from blanket bans and photocopied letters. It comes from accountability, intelligence-led enforcement, and a genuine commitment to rehabilitation.

Until these principles are embraced, the ban on paper will stand as a symbol of misplaced priorities—one that damages human connection while failing to solve the problem it claims to address.

Stand Up for Fairness: A Call for Equal Enforcement of the Law

 I find it increasingly difficult to understand how this country is being governed, and I know I am not alone in feeling this way. Many ordinary people look at the decisions being made and feel confused, frustrated, and ignored. I hope that anyone reading this can understand where this frustration comes from and see why this issue matters so much to so many people across the UK.

At the heart of the problem is a simple idea: laws are supposed to mean something. If a person enters the UK on a visa, that visa comes with clear conditions and a clear end date. It is a legal agreement between the individual and the state. Once that visa expires, the permission to remain in the country should also expire. That rule should be firm, consistent, and applied equally to everyone. No exceptions based on politics, public pressure, or government embarrassment.

Yet what we see time and time again is inconsistency. The government allows large numbers of foreign nationals into the country, often without proper planning or sufficient infrastructure in place. Housing, public services, schools, healthcare, and local communities are all affected. Then, when the system becomes overwhelmed or public concern grows, the same government performs a U-turn. Policies are softened, deadlines extended, and enforcement quietly reduced. Instead of clarity, we get confusion. Instead of fairness, we get double standards.

This creates the impression that there is one rule for some people and another rule for others. That is deeply damaging to trust in the system. A fair society depends on equal treatment under the law. When people believe that laws are enforced selectively, respect for those laws begins to collapse. It becomes harder to ask citizens to follow rules when they see the authorities bending or ignoring them whenever it becomes inconvenient.

It is important to be clear about one thing: this frustration is not about hatred toward immigrants as individuals. Many people come to the UK legally, work hard, contribute to society, and follow the rules. They deserve respect. The anger is directed at poor governance and weak enforcement, not at ordinary people trying to build better lives. In fact, inconsistent enforcement is unfair even to those who do follow the rules, because it rewards rule-breaking and punishes honesty.

When the government invites people into the country, it has a responsibility to manage that process properly. That means having clear rules, realistic limits, and the courage to enforce decisions even when they are unpopular. Instead, what we often see is hesitation and backpedalling. Promises are made, headlines are written, and then nothing meaningful changes. This cycle repeats again and again, leaving the public feeling powerless and misled.

The impact of this goes beyond immigration alone. It affects how people view democracy, leadership, and the rule of law. If the government cannot be trusted to enforce something as basic as visa conditions, how can it be trusted to manage more complex challenges? Trust, once lost, is very difficult to rebuild.

Another issue is accountability. When policies fail, responsibility is rarely taken. Mistakes are blamed on previous administrations, external factors, or vague circumstances. Meanwhile, the consequences are felt by local communities who had no say in the decisions being made. People are told to accept the situation, to stay quiet, or to be ashamed of raising concerns. That is not how a healthy democracy should function.

Citizens have the right to question government policy without being dismissed or labelled. Wanting clear borders, consistent enforcement, and fair application of the law does not make someone unreasonable. It means they care about order, justice, and long-term stability. Ignoring these concerns only fuels resentment and division.

Peaceful protest and public debate are essential tools in a democratic society. Throughout history, progress has been made because ordinary people refused to stay silent. Speaking out, organising, and demanding better leadership are not signs of extremism—they are signs of engagement. If people believe policies are unfair or poorly managed, they have every right to say so.

The idea is simple: if a visa has expired, then it has expired. That should be the end of the matter. Clear rules benefit everyone. They provide certainty for migrants, confidence for citizens, and credibility for the government. Constant exceptions and last-minute changes help no one in the long run.

Strong leadership is not about pleasing everyone or avoiding criticism. It is about making difficult decisions and standing by them. It is about honesty with the public and respect for the law. Without those qualities, trust continues to erode, and frustration continues to grow.

People across the UK are tired of feeling ignored. They are tired of seeing policies announced with confidence and then quietly abandoned. They are tired of being told one thing while watching another happen. This frustration should not be dismissed—it should be addressed.

Ultimately, this is about fairness, consistency, and responsibility. A country cannot function properly if its laws are optional or unevenly enforced. Citizens should not be afraid to demand better from those in power. Get up, stand up, and make your voice heard—not through anger or hatred, but through clear, firm insistence on equal rules and accountable leadership. Rights are not protected by silence. They are protected by people who refuse to give up on the idea of fairness.