Prison officers at HMP Wandsworth made vile jokes about a young inmate's suicide in a Whatsapp group, according to reports.
One prison officer posted “Splendid if so. Total p***k,” adding “Good, I hope he suffered” after hearing the news that a 21-year-old prisoner had died - an investigation by The Times newspaper has uncovered.
There were 27 members of HMP Wandsworth staff in the group and another prison officer reportedly added a gif of a man dancing alongside the words “Another one bites the dust”.
A whistleblower at the prison shared messages with The Times which were homophobic and misogynistic. There were also jokes about assaulting prisoners including former tennis star Boris Becker who was inside the prison for a few weeks in April 2022.
The prisoner’s mother told the newspaper she was left “totally broken” by the messages and explained she was not able to tell family members as she did not want to upset them more while they were grieving.
The mother added that the prison officers had not apologised to the prisoner’s family and questioned “Do they know how it hurts when you lose a child?”.
The prisoner was the 14th prisoner death in the previous two years at the London prison.
Other messages sent from one of the prison officers included him writing that the inmate was an “utter c***, no loss”.
A prison officer reported the group chat to the governor. Following an internal investigation the two prison officers who sent offensive messages were dismissed last year for unprofessional conduct.
Their conduct was reported to the police but no further action was taken and their behaviour was not made public.
It is the latest scandal to hit the prison. Overworked guards at the troubled London prison failed to notice when one of the inmates died in his cell in 2019, a coroner found.
The prison in south London was put into special measures in May this year due to reports of serious overcrowding, violence among inmates and towards staff, vermin infestations, and the widespread use of drugs.
Other issues include the alleged escape of one prisoner last year, and the high-profile case of a married warden earlier this year being allegedly filmed having sex with an inmate.
When contacted by The Times, one of the officers said he was “full of remorse and regret” for sending the messages.
He said he had written an apology letter to the prisoner’s family explaining how sorry he was and that he was “shocked” to hear that this had not been passed on to them by the prison.
“It was something that I fully regret and I live with for the rest of my days,” he said.
The other prison officer who sent the vile messages said he could not respond as he was out of the country and then did not respond to The Times’ further requests for comment.
The prison service told the newspaper it had strengthened its vetting processes and bolstered its counter-corruption unit with 140 new staff.
It has also introduced measures to support staff in raising concerns, including a confidential helpline.
A spokeswoman said: “This was truly despicable behaviour that tarnishes the hard work of the overwhelming majority of our prison staff.
“The two officers involved were dismissed last year when these messages came to light and their actions were reported to police. Where officers do fall below our high standards, robust action will be taken as was the case here.”
For confidential support, the Samaritans can be contacted by calling 116 123 or going to samaritans.org
