A scandal-hit prison that has been called the worst in England and Wales has had a further collapse in its conditions, with seven suicides by inmates over the past year, a damning report has found.
HMP Wandsworth, from which a terror suspect escaped and where a prison officer was filmed having sex with an inmate, will receive £100m from the lord chancellor after findings from the prisons watchdog, the government announced on Tuesday.
In May, a catastrophic inspection of the south London jail led Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons, to demand that the then lord chancellor, Alex Chalk, invoke an urgent notification for improvement.
On Tuesday, the full report from that inspection detailed the extent of the problems uncovered in April and May this year. They include:
40% of emergency cell bells not being responded to within five minutes.
Rocketing levels of self-harm among prisoners. This included an incident when staff were oblivious to a prisoner in crisis who had self-harmed in his cell until inspectors brought it to their attention.
Increasing overall rates of violence, including serious assaults, and higher use of force than at most other reception jails.
More than half of men saying it was easy to get drugs. The smell of cannabis was ubiquitous, the report said. The most recent tests found 44% of prisoners were using drugs.
Severe overcrowding, with 80% of men sharing cells designed to hold one person. Living conditions were very poor, with damaged flooring and furniture, broken windows and leaking fixtures being common, the report said. Many cells had no screening around the toilet, despite holding two men.
Poor maintenance and filthy conditions. At the time of the inspection, the prison had more than 900 outstanding jobs in its facilities log, inspectors said. The prison was dirty, with persistent vermin problems, and inspectors found rodent faeces and urine in cells.
About three-quarters of men claiming to spend more than 22 hours a day in their cells. Inspectors carrying out two random roll checks were unable to verify this because record-keeping was so poor.
Managers not being able to account for prisoners during the working day, despite the terror suspect Daniel Khalife’s escape from the south London prison in September. Khalife was recaptured three days later.
Most leaders at the prison being temporarily promoted, and new staff learning from inexperienced frontline managers.
The prison was plunged into a further crisis last month after a video emerged showing a prison officer having sex with an inmate. Linda De Sousa Abreu has admitted misconduct in a public office after the encounter was filmed by another inmate and uploaded to social media.
Taylor said the level of chaos at the prison was “deeply shocking”. “The appalling conditions at Wandsworth did not appear overnight and are the result of sustained decline permitted to happen in plain view,” he said.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said the government would address the inspectorate’s concerns by deploying extra specialist staff to turn the jail around and by redirecting £100m from across the Prison Service that would be spent over five years to deliver urgent improvements. This includes the repair of cell windows, shower refurbishments and investment in fire safety measures.
The lord chancellor, Shabana Mahmood, said: “This is the reality of a prison system in crisis. Cells are overcrowded, infrastructure is crumbling and our hard-working prison staff are at risk of violence and harm.
“Our staff deserve better and we are taking immediate action at HMP Wandsworth to do what is necessary to protect the public, lock up dangerous offenders and make prisons safe.”
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
