'Bloodbath' jails 'dangerous' for everyone, prison officers warn
Video report by ITV News Political Correspondent Carl Dinnen
British jails have been engulfed by a "bloodbath" and are "dangerous" to everyone involved, the head of the Prison Officers Association (POA) has warned.
Mike Rolfe warned prisons - where there are 65 attacks every day - pose a threat to officers and prisoners alike due to staff cuts and a collapse in moral.
It comes a day before major prison reforms are due to be announced on Thursday.
Mr Rolfe warned: "It's a bloodbath in prisons at this minute in time.
"Staff are absolutely on their knees, lost all morale, all motivation.
"Prisoners are scared. They want prison officers to be in charge, and the prison officers feel incapable to do that.
"Low staffing numbers, people leaving the job in droves, it's a real bad mix, and it's dangerous for everyone, staff and prisoners alike."
Last month one inmate died and two others were left in critical conditions after a stabbing at Pentonville Prison in London.
The POA had planned meetings outside each jail on Tuesday to highlight fears over increasing violence and suicides in English and Welsh prisons.
But they were called them off after Justice Secretary Liz Truss agreed to the urgent talks.
Instead, branch meetings to discuss safety issues inside prisons were authorised.
Last month the chair of the Parole Board warned prison safety had deteriorated to its most serious level and that he could "see no sign that the number of homicides, self-inflicted deaths, self-harm incidents and assaults will not continue to rise".
POA vice chair Ralph Valerio added that "we are running out of time to save our Prison Service.
"Government inertia is a great cause of the violence epidemic that is sweeping our prison estate at this moment in time.
"Putting prison officers on to a landing isn't going to be the panacea to all ills.
"However, it will be a very positive step maintaining ... retaining, the health and safety of those in our care.
"And, of course, for the prison officers."
Negotiations aimed at reaching a new agreement will take place later this month, the POA said.
Ms Truss told the Commons on Tuesday there is a "serious issue with violence and levels of suicide" as she stressed that addressing the situation is her top priority.
Shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon branded the prison system as being "in utter crisis".
"The Justice Secretary has clearly lost the confidence of prison governors and staff, Mr Burgon said.
"The prison system is in utter crisis - a majority of prisons are now overcrowded, and a quarter of frontline officers been made redundant since 2010.
"At the same time assaults and deaths in prisons are at an all-time record high...
"We need a clear plan on how they intend creating a prison system that works."
John Attard of the Prison Governors Association said the £14 million in extra resources promised by the Government was inadequate.
"We talk about the overall statistics as being worse, but they are actually much worse if we go back four years.
"So the serious assault percentages on staff, for example, reported as 20% up on the year, which is correct, but if you go back four years, when the staff cuts were first introduced, they have actually gone up 171%, and that's a significant rise.
"And the same can be said about deaths in custody.
"Staffing is a major contributor to it. The £14 million that's been given, as welcome as it is, is less than half of 1% of the £334 million that was taken out four years ago."