Legal highs increasing violent incidents in prison

Tactical response teams were called to deal with violent or dangerous incidents in jail nearly every day last year, figures show.

Throughout 2015, the National Tactical Response Group (NTRG) - a prison crack team - were called 360 times, up from 223 in 2014.

They responded to 48 hostage situations, 31 instances of concerted indiscipline, 24 "barricade" incidents and one "explosive threat," according to the Ministry of Justice.

It also handled two incidents of self-harm and one of a "prisoner in crisis".

Additionally there were 253 "incidents at height," which often involve prisoners clambering on to the netting or railings attached to wing landings in the hope they will be taken to segregation and then moved to another prison.

• Legal highs making jails "more dangerous"

Prisons Minister Andrew Selous believes the rise in dangerous incidents within prisons is partly down to the availability of legal highs.

Mr Selous admitted violence in prisons had increased in recent years, with NTRG call-outs more than doubling from the 118 incidents in 2010.

He highlighted Government initiatives to trial body worn cameras and train sniffer dogs to detect legal highs but insisted the only way to improve the situation was by giving governors the power to reform and rehabilitate criminals

• Michael Gove should "wake up" to prison crisis

Shadow justice minister Andy Slaughter, who revealed the figures using a written parliamentary question, described the figures as "damning".