The full extent of violent disturbances at Britain's biggest prison is being "covered up" by ministers and G4S, the private firm that runs it, it has been claimed.
The allegations follow a nine-hour stand-off between staff and inmates at so-called "super prison" HMP Oakwood that ended in the early hours of Monday morning.
It has emerged the violent outbreak was not an isolated incident but one of a string of disturbances at the prison, which houses 1,600 criminals.
Labour's shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan said the prison, which only opened in April 2012, had been "plagued" by protests and disturbances.
And he said the Ministry of Justice and G4S, the firm which runs the jail and was recently exposed for overcharging the Government by millions for criminal tagging services, needed to come clean over the problems there.
Shadow justice minister Sadiq Khan says HMP Oakwood is plagued by protests The category C prison was sharply criticised by prisons inspectors late last year over high levels of violence and the ease with which inmates were able to obtain drugs.
Mr Khan said: "More and more information is coming to light that suggests the Ministry of Justice and G4S are trying to cover up the true scale of the disturbances in the Justice Secretary's flagship Oakwood prison on Sunday night.
"The Tory-led Government needs to come clean and admit what really happened, and acknowledge that there are some very serious underlying problems at Oakwood.
"The prison is not punishing and reforming offenders anywhere near as well as it should, and the taxpayer deserves better.
"This isn't an isolated incident. Since opening the prison has been plagued by rooftop protests, disturbances and a damning Chief Inspectors' Report that revealed inmates found it easier to get drugs than soap. Yet instead of getting a grip, Chris Grayling praises Oakwood as his model for the rest of the prisons system."
A justice minister's spokeswoman responded: "This is complete scaremongering. It was the previous Labour government who in fact kicked off the process to allow private operators to run Oakwood - and for them to turn around now and cry foul is outright hypocrisy.
"Any suggestion that there's been a 'cover-up' as to what is going on at Oakwood is ridiculous. Opening a new prison is a difficult and complex operation and we've made no bones about that. But there have been steady improvements over the months and we will continue to monitor the situation closely.
"Privately run prisons have been a key feature of the estate for over 20 years, and will continue to play a crucial role in rehabilitating offenders."
In a statement on Monday, the Ministry of Justice and G4S dismissed reports that prison staff were taken hostage during the incident, which they said involved only around 20 inmates in one wing of the jail.
HMP Oakwood, which has been dubbed "Jokewood" by prisoners, was originally intended to be a "titan prison" holding 2,500 inmates, but this was downgraded when the titan programme was dropped.
:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602 and Freeview channel 82.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
HMP Oakwood: Cover-Up Claims After Stand-Off
Dengan url
http://belomtidur.blogspot.com/2014/01/hmp-oakwood-cover-up-claims-after-stand.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
HMP Oakwood: Cover-Up Claims After Stand-Off
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
HMP Oakwood: Cover-Up Claims After Stand-Off
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar