The chief inspector’s latest warning makes it clear that problems go right to the top of the prison service
Many, though not all, of England’s prisons are in a terrible state. The alleged escape last year of Daniel Khalife from HMP Wandsworth, and the manhunt that led to his recapture, focused attention on staffing and other problems at the south London prison (Mr Khalife has pleaded not guilty and goes on trial in October). Last week’s letter to the justice secretary, Alex Chalk, from the prisons inspectorate, put paid to any hope that this dramatic episode could have led to improvement. The warning it contained, known as an urgent notification, criticised “poor leadership at every level” including at the Ministry of Justice. The prison’s governor, Katie Price, has resigned.
The failures at Wandsworth are acute. After four years as chief inspector of prisons, Charlie Taylor said the jail was characterised by “a degree of despondency he had not come across” before. Seven self-inflicted deaths have occurred in the past 12 months. In drug test results from February, 44% of prisoners were positive.
