Staff at Wandsworth prison were unable to account for the whereabouts of prisoners during the day seven months after an inmate allegedly escaped, an inspection report revealed on Tuesday.
As a result of the “catastrophic” inspection in May, the HMIP issued then-Justice Secretary Alex Chalk with a notification demanding urgent improvements.
Chalk lost his job and his seat in July’s general election and was replaced by Shabana Mahmood.
‘Appalling Conditions ... Did Not Appear Overnight’
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor said: “The level of chaos we found at Wandsworth was deeply shocking.“The prison population crisis has undoubtedly compounded the pressures on the jail, but the appalling conditions at Wandsworth did not appear overnight and are the result of sustained decline permitted to happen in plain view of leaders in the jail, HM Prison & Probation Service and the [Ministry of Justice] whose own systems clearly identified the prison as struggling,” he added.
Taylor said: “There was a degree of despondency amongst prisoners at Wandsworth that I have not come across in my time as chief inspector.
“Many well-meaning and hard-working leaders and staff persevered at Wandsworth, but they were often fighting against a tide of cross-cutting, intractable problems that require comprehensive, long-term solutions,” he added.
Taylor said that if Wandsworth is to recover it needs “permanent experienced leaders at all levels” who can guide less experienced staff.
The HMIP report said prison staff displayed an “inability to account for prisoners during the working day” despite £900,000 having been invested by the Ministry of Justice since the alleged escape in September 2023.
Inspectors carried out two random roll checks and found “record keeping was so poor” staff were unable to account for the whereabouts of inmates.
The inspection, which took place from April 22 to May 2, found Wandsworth was “severely overcrowded” with 80 percent of men sharing cells designed to hold one person.
At the time it held 1,521 men, despite having a baseline operational capacity of 979 men.
Around three quarters of men spent more than 22 hours a day in “appalling conditions” in their cells, said the report.
Daniel Khalife, who allegedly escaped from Wandsworth while strapped under a food delivery lorry, is due to stand trial in October. A former soldier, Khalife was on remand on terrorism charges when he went missing in September 2023.
He was accused of eliciting or attempting to elicit information “about an individual who was or had been a member of His Majesty’s forces which was of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism” on Aug. 2, 2021.
He was also charged over a “bomb hoax” in January 2023 at the Beacon Barracks in Staffordshire.
Mahmood said in a statement: “This is the reality of a prison system in crisis. Cells are overcrowded, infrastructure is crumbling and our hard-working prison staff are at risk of violence and harm.
“Our staff deserve better and we are taking immediate action at HMP Wandsworth to do what is necessary to protect the public, lock up dangerous offenders and make prisons safe for the brave staff who work there,” she added.
The Ministry of Justice said it had taken measures to bolster prison security and safety at Wandsworth.
These measures included the introduction of new leadership, “regular beefed-up drug searches from specialist drug detection teams,” and training for staff on reducing violence.
