Updated 13 minutes ago
England’s second-biggest prison is stricken with severe overcrowding, vermin and rising violence among inmates, inspectors have found.
Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor has issued an “urgent notification” about conditions in HMP Wandsworth.
Wandsworth was the scene of an alleged escape by Daniel Khalife last year.
The prison’s governor, Katie Price, resigned during the inspection earlier this week.
An urgent notification means the chief inspector of prisons directly alerts the Lord Chancellor and secretary of state for justice if there is an urgent and significant concern about the performance of a prison.
The secretary of state will then publish a response and a plan of action within 28 days.
After that, a long-term plan is established for continued improvement.
In his report to Justice Secretary Alex Chalk, Mr Taylor said the prison environment was characterized by “a degree of despondency he had not come across in his time as chief inspector”.
He added: “The poor outcomes we found at Wandsworth are systemic and cultural failures and stemmed from poor leadership at every level of the prison, from HMPPS (HM Prison and Probation Service) and the Ministry of Justice.
“For this troubled prison to begin to recover, Wandsworth needs permanent experienced leaders at all levels who are invested in its long-term future to improve security, safety and guide their less-experienced colleagues.
“Until this happens, the risk of a further catastrophe, a self-inflicted death or escape from lawful custody, is ever-present.”
The jail was described as “unsafe and inhumane” in the report, which said Wandsworth’s failings reflected the wider prison system.
The Prison Governors’ Association confirmed on X, formerly Twitter, this week that Ms Price had resigned as Wandsworth’s governor.
Prisons minister Edward Argar said: “This is a deeply concerning report which shows HMP Wandsworth continues to face significant challenges and it is clear that, on top of the additional support we’ve already provided since September to improve safety and security, including nearly £ 1m of upgrades, we need to go further still.
“In the coming weeks, we will be strengthening the management team with extra experienced staff to provide the leadership, culture change and training needed to turn Wandsworth around.
“In the interim we are deploying more staff, including prison officers, to the prison and will set out further action shortly.”
The chief inspector of prisons has issued six urgent notifications about prisons in England and Wales since November 2022.
