An emergency warning has been issued over the state of a prison where inspectors criticised squalid cells, soaring rates of violence and self-harm, and the escape of an inmate who should have been under constant supervision.
HMP Bedford had the highest levels of violent assaults on staff and the third highest rate of self-harm incidents across all mens’ prisons in England and Wales, while prisoners were spending up to 23 hours a day locked up in the rat and cockroach-infested jail.
