HMP Woodhill

HMP Woodhill: Call for emergency measures at 'unsafe' prison

By Neve Gordon-Farleigh & Flora Thompson

BBC News & PA Media

1 September 2023, 01:29 BST

Updated 2 hours ago

Woodhill Prison

Image caption,

The prison in Milton Keynes was found to have "chronic" staff shortages and a high rate of attacks on staff

Inspectors have called for the high-security jail HMP Woodhill to be put into emergency measures amid attacks on officers and "chronic" staff shortages.

The prison, in Milton Keynes, was deemed to be "fundamentally unsafe" following an inspection in August.

Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons, has contacted Justice Secretary Alex Chalk to issue an urgent notification for improvement.

The prisons minister said there was an "urgent need for improvement".

Woodhill holds about 500 male Category A offenders, including Charles Bronson, and was said to have the "highest rate of serious assaults in England and Wales" on staff, with "bullying and intimidation by prisoners to be commonplace".

Low morale meant many staff had "voted with their feet", with more officers leaving than joining, and with "no indication that the situation would improve", the watchdog said.

'Urgent support needed'

In August, the BBC reported the jail was on a recruitment drive for new officers, with previous inspections also highlighting a lack of staff at the site.

Chelsea Lee, deputy head of residence, said it took "a certain kind of person" to be a prison officer.

"Sometimes we have bad days. There can be high frustrations working in this kind of custodial environment," she said.

"There could be multiple incidents throughout the day and it's quite high stress levels for the officer.

HMP Woodhill has been trying to recruit more prison officers for a long time

Mr Taylor expressed concern that a "complex, high-risk" prison like Woodhill could not "operate effectively with such chronic staff shortages".

"Urgent support is needed from HMPPS [His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service] to help Woodhill and other establishments to develop credible, long-term plans that improve staff recruitment, and, crucially, staff retention," he said.

Prisons Minister Damian Hinds said: "The findings of this report demonstrate the urgent need for improvement at HMP Woodhill and we will be working closely and quickly with the prison to set out how it can address these issues."

He said the prison service was "working hard to recruit and retain staff", including increasing starting salaries for prison officers and recruiting more staff

In previous inspections, staff shortages and retainment had also been labelled a "considerable concern" at HMP Woodhill

The inspector's report also found high levels of violence and drugs at the jail, with the rate of self-harm among inmates the highest in the country for men's prisons.

Twenty-six offenders were found to be "self isolating" in cells in fear of their own safety, while staff shortages meant education classes and work had been cancelled for inmates, leaving them "frustrated".

The watchdog said without significantly improving staffing levels, "it was not clear how the jail will improve".

Charles Bronson is one of the Category A prisoners based at HMP Woodhill

Pia Sinha, chief executive of the Prison Reform Trust, branded the report "shocking", adding: "After repeated warnings, it is extremely disappointing that the prison now finds itself in this position.

"Ministers urgently need to get a grip on what has gone wrong."