Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, is facing demands from a watchdog to place another prison into emergency measures because of “very high levels of violence”, drug problems and compromised security.
An inspection of HMP Winchester found that the level of serious assaults against staff was the highest of any reception prison in England and Wales, while nearly half of all prisoners – 47% – said it was easy to get illicit drugs there.
A letter sent to Mahmood by inspectors noted that the fabric of the category B jail was so poor that a prisoner was able to remove his cell door, while a third of its CCTV cameras did not work.
The letter is the second formal request this month from HM Inspectorate of Prisons for a formal ministerial intervention into a prison, and the ninth since November 2022.
The demand comes amid deepening concern that the Ministry of Justice could face spending cuts of up to 20% in next week’s budget despite an overcrowding crisis. Ministers have been forced to release thousands of prisoners early since August because of a lack of capacity.
In the pointed final paragraph of the letter to Mahmood, Martin Lomas, the deputy chief inspector, said correcting “systemic failures” seen at Winchester would require more money.
“The poor outcomes we found at Winchester represent systemic failings under the oversight of HMPPS and the Ministry of Justice and will require sustained support and investment if the prison is to provide decent living conditions, improve safety and security, and operate effectively,” he wrote.
More than two out of every five prisoners – 41% – held at Winchester tested positive for drug use in August, and 47% reported it was easy to get hold of illicit substances.
The prison, which holds 690 men, was so “dilapidated” one inmate had “been able to remove his own cell door”, the watchdog’s inspection carried out earlier this month found. In May, it emerged that another prisoner at the jail had used plastic cutlery to dig a through a cell wall on to a prison landing.
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Having received an urgent notification, Mahmood has 28 calendar days to publicly respond to the concerns. It in effect places the jail in special measures and means the justice secretary has to urgently produce an action plan for improvement before the watchdog carries out another inspection.
Lomas wrote: “Winchester was in a very poor state and had been for many years. 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.”
On Tuesday, Mahmood announced a sentencing review, chaired by the former justice secretary David Gauke, which will examine a number of options to cut the number of people sent to prison.
Responding to the report, the prisons minister, James Timpson, said: “This report illustrates the scale of the crisis this government inherited in our prisons.
“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 full findings of the inspection which prompted the urgent notification will be published at a later date.
Mark Day, the deputy director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: “Inspectors are right to lay the blame on systemic failings within the Prison Service and Ministry of Justice. 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.”
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