US-style “supermax” prisons could be introduced in Britain to house the most dangerous offenders, following a string of violent incidents involving inmates, the prisons minister has revealed.
According to Sky News, James Timpson said “we shouldn’t rule anything out” when asked whether the UK should consider building top-security jails similar to those used in America to contain high-risk criminals.
His comments came after a disturbing incident at HMP Belmarsh last week, in which triple killer Axel Rudakubana allegedly scalded a prison officer by throwing boiling water from a kettle. The attack is now under police investigation.
In a separate shocking case, three officers were allegedly targeted by Hashem Abedi – the brother of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi – who reportedly used hot cooking oil and “improvised knives”, possibly fashioned from a baking tray.
Speaking to Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge from HMP Preston, Mr Timpson acknowledged the crisis engulfing UK prisons and called for decisive action.
“We inherited a complete mess in the prison system. Violence is up, assaults on staff is up. But for me, we shouldn’t rule anything out,” he said.
The former Timpson Group CEO, who became prisons minister last year, stressed the importance of listening to frontline workers. “What we need to do is to speak to our staff. They’re the experts at dealing with these offenders day in, day out.”
Mr Timpson admitted that violence in prisons was “too high” and pointed to overcrowding and a lack of meaningful activity as key drivers.
“The number of people when you have prisons are so full, and the people in there are not going to education or into purposeful activity… you get more violence and that is totally unacceptable,” he said. “Our staff turn up to work to help turn people. They want to turn people’s lives around. They didn’t turn up to work to get assaulted. It’s totally unacceptable.”
As the government prepares for a sweeping review of sentencing policy, Mr Timpson highlighted chronic issues such as drug addiction, homelessness, and mental health problems among ex-offenders.
He said: “80% of offending is reoffending. People are leaving places like HMP Preston addicted to drugs, nowhere to live, mental health problems – and that’s why they keep coming back.”
Asked whether every prison in the country struggles with drug issues, the minister was unequivocal: “100%.”
He added: “If we want to keep the public safe, we need to do a lot more of the work in here and in the community. But also we need to build more prisons.”
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