Security failings found at HMP Wandsworth in wake of alleged prisoner escape

An audit found a raft of security failings at HMP Wandsworth, a category B prison in London, where prisoner Daniel Khalife allegedly escaped last September.

HMP Wandsworth’s Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) said a security audit identified “81 points of failure” and resulted in “long overdue” upgrades being made to CCTV cameras which had not worked for over a year.

The audit resulted in the prison being handed the lowest grade of unsatisfactory.

Daniel Khalife has been accused of fleeing custody while being held on remand over spy charges.

He allegedly strapped himself underneath a food delivery lorry and was arrested a few days later. The former soldier denies all the charges against him and is due to stand trial in October.

The prisons watchdog called for the category B Victorian jail in south-west London to be put into emergency measures after “deeply concerning” inspection findings in the wake of the alleged incident.

Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor wrote to then justice secretary Alex Chalk in May to issue an urgent notification for improvement.

Earlier this month the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) announced it would be redirecting £100 million from across the prison service to spend over five years on bringing in “urgent improvements”.

The MoJ said it would also send in extra specialist staff after the full details of Mr Taylor’s inspection were published, laying bare a “shocking” level of chaos at the prison with staff unable to “account for prisoners during the working day”.

The latest findings from the IMB, published on Thursday, described Wandsworth as a “failing prison” which was “constrained by staff absence and hindered by underfunding and lack of support from the prison service”.

Its report said the alleged escape led to multiple reviews and action including “previously unavailable funding” being made available for security improvements and “significant investment” in a bid to stop “illicit items” being brought into the prison.

The security audit was carried out in November while an internal review completed in December made 39 recommendations, the report said.

The MoJ is yet to publish these documents or confirm whether any disciplinary action has been taken.

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While the IMB - made up of volunteers tasked by ministers to scrutinise conditions in custody - welcomed the improvements in security at the gate and reception, it warned it was “possible” the measures “led to an increase in drone activity.

There were 261 instances noted during the reporting period, with such activity relatively rare in the previous year.

The IMB’s annual report for 2023-24 concluded the prison, which is since under new leadership, was “not safe”, with close to 1,000 assaults recorded either between prisoners or on staff.

The report also said that it was “alarmingly easy” for prisoners to get hold of contraband with cell searches finding phones, drugs, makeshift weapons and alcohol.

The shortage of experienced staff, with almost half having been in their job for less than a year, “undermined attempts to make the prison run effectively” and staff absence often reached 50%, it said.

IMB chairman Matthew Andrews said: “For HMP Wandsworth and the men whose treatment we monitor, this year has been as bad as any in our memory and, by many measures, worse."

An investigation by ITV News last October revealed the filthy conditions at Wandsworth Prison, including rats, broken toilets and a lack of hot food and water for inmates.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “The new government inherited a justice system in crisis and has been forced to take action and get a grip of the situation across the prison estate, so we can lock up dangerous offenders, protect the public and make prisons safer for hard-working staff.

“Earlier this month, the new Lord Chancellor announced that the Prison Service is deploying extra specialist staff and will redirect £100 million to be spent over five years at HMP Wandsworth to ensure immediate action is taken to improve conditions.”

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