Serious disturbances at Winchester Prison

Attacks on staff and prisoners, extreme disorder and violence, the setting of fires and a jail with little or no constructive activity, a lack of staff and criminal damage to windows, TVs and furniture.

As revealed in the Daily Echo yesterday, prison staff battled to retain control with inmates reporting of being locked in their cells for three days, inadequately fed and unable to wash.

A former inmate, from Southampton, who was released recently, said: “I’m in touch with prisoners on their phones. People have been held in their cells for six days. There was three days of complete lockdown at the start of the week.

“There are three prison officers for 200 inmates, when there used to be five or six. I think they are losing control. I have never felt so unsafe in a prison. There is a lot of violence.”

Things have changed in the last four years since prisoners aged 18-21 years have been at the jail. “There are now a lot of young gangs in there, young men who want to prove a point. A lot of staff are intimidated, they want an easy ride and are just going along with it.”

He said the basic problem was insufficient staff. “There are not enough staff to ensure that four could be in the kitchen overseeing the cooking of hot food, so inmates have been eating baguettes in their cells.”

He said around 20-25 men involved in the trouble had been transferred to other jails.

Many inmates have mobile phones smuggled in and some even upload to Facebook whilst inside, said the ex-inmate.

The mother of another prisoner said: “It’s been complete chaos, a complete mess, fires and ambulances.

“It’s horrendous. Winchester has a bad reputation for people harming themselves. My son is vulnerable, mentally ill. He has not had his medication for days. Has nobody learned any lessons. Nobody seems to care.

“I know he is there to be punished but he is still entitled to basic needs like medication.”

The Ministry of Justice was unavailable for comment but earlier denied claims that control has been lost of three of the prison’s four wings.

A spokesperson said: “HMP Winchester is running a temporary restricted regime to maintain a safe and secure environment.

“It is untrue that prison staff lost control of three wings – staff remained in control at all times.”

The Prison Officers Association was unavailable for comment. In the past the POA have raised concerns about reduced staffing levels.

An Independent Monitoring Board report highlighted concerns about inmate safety and bullying.

Its latest report in November 2016 said: “Reduced staffing levels, greater drug misuse and lack of investment at Her Majesty’s Prison Winchester, have led to an increase in disorder and violence, a decrease in standards of decency and hygiene and means that the prison is not able to function effectively.”

The jail dates back to 1846 and is currently Category B Local prison that serves the local courts, with a small 129-bed Category C Resettlement Unit, named Westhill.