A jail so severely dilapidated that an inmate was able to remove his cell door has been placed in emergency measures, as inspectors hit out at “systemic failings”.
HMP Winchester, a Victorian-era prison holding around 690 inmates, was branded one of the most unsafe jails in the country by HM deputy chief inspector Martin Lomas as he issued an urgent notification over “appalling” conditions to justice secretary Shabana Mahmood.
Government-run Winchester – the ninth prison to be put in emergency measures in just two years – was found to have the highest rate of serious assaults against prison staff, and the second highest between inmates, fuelled by high levels of illicit drug use, debts and frustration.
With a third of CCTV cameras broken at the Hampshire jail, some 41 per cent of men tested positive for drug use in random testing, with nearly half reporting that it was easy to get hold of illicit substances.
Many prisoners lived in “dilapidated, neglected and filthy” conditions, with some cells so damp and mouldy that inspectors questioned whether they were fit for habitation, the letter to Ms Mahmood said.
Many men, including those spending their first night in prison, had to live in cold cells with offensive graffiti and broken or missing furniture, with broken phone sockets and delays in approving phone numbers leaving them unable to contact their families for weeks, the inspectorate said.
And in one extraordinary lapse in security, the prison was crumbling to the extent that one prisoner had been able to “remove” his own cell door. Significant repairs – such as fixing leaking roofs and broken windows – had been outstanding since 2022, the watchdog said.
Earlier this year, volunteer watchdog Independent Monitoring Board found rat infestations and degraded brickwork at Winchester, which prisoners have previously been able to dig through using plastic cutlery.
This week’s report also warned most prisoners were unlocked for only two and a half hours a day, and even when they were out of their cells they spent almost all of their time in surroundings with far too limited options of purposeful activity.
“Winchester was in a very poor state and had been for many years,” said Mr Lomas. “At this most recent inspection we found that standards had deteriorated to the point that we had no choice but to issue an Urgent Notification for improvement.
“These very poor outcomes represent systemic failings under the oversight of HMPPS and the Ministry of Justice, and will require sustained support and investment if the jail is to provide decent living conditions, keep prisoners safe and provide them with the skills they need to succeed in life outside prison.”
Andrea Coomber KC, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “Winchester is a prison so broken that a man could remove his cell door. It has been asked to do too much, with too little, for too long.
“At the end of last month, it had room for fewer than 450 men – but it was being asked to hold more than 600.
“When conditions are so appalling that a wall can be prised open with plastic cutlery, and when violence, drug use and self-harm are rife, what hope is there for the men who spend more than 21 hours each day locked in their cells?”
Mark Day, deputy director of the Prison Reform Trust, said inspectors were “right to lay the blame on systematic failings” on goverment, adding: “This week’s sentencing review highlights a dawning realisation at the very top of government that a radical change to our approach to imprisonment is needed.”
Describing the report as illustrating “the scale of the crisis this government inherited”, prisons minister Lord Timpson said: “We took immediate action to grip the overcrowding chaos inflicting our jails.
“We have since committed to building 14,000 more prison places, and this week launched a landmark review of sentencing to ensure the prison system is never placed in such a position again.
“Prisons like HMP Winchester must not be allowed to become breeding grounds for further crime. Staff are already working hard to drive the improvements needed and we will publish an action plan in the coming weeks to support them in their efforts.”
The latest urgent notification comes just a fortnight after HMP Manchester, also known as Strangeways, was put into emergency measures, with inspectors left “shocked” at the collapse in standards which had rendered the jail “fundamentally unsafe”.
