Government asked to meet cost of Birmingham prison riot

The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson will ask the Government to foot the bill for the cost of extra police officers who were drafted in to deal with trouble after a riot broke out at Birmingham Prison last month.

The riot – the worst in a UK prison in more than 20 years – was discussed at a meeting of West Midlands Police’s Strategic Police and Crime Board this week.

Senior officers revealed that they took the decision to deploy extra resources to the Winson Green Prison after they realised that the trouble had escalated.

Deputy Chief Constable Louisa Rolfe said the riot was now subject to a post-incident review with the Ministry of Justice.

She added that nearly all the police officers were used on perimeter, with only a small number deployed inside the prison walls to support Prison Service Tornado teams in securing open spaces.

Assistant Chief Constable Alex Murray, who was in charge of the policing operation on the day, added:

Some inmates posed for mobile phone pictures, wearing the riot control gear they had taken from kit lockers. Credit: BPM.

At the height of the riot, prisoners took over areas of the Winson Green prison, starting fires, destroying records and damaging equipment.Some posed for mobile phone pictures, wearing the riot control gear they had just taken from kit lockers.

There were fears, as trouble escalated, that the inmates might break out into the ‘no man’s land’ area between the lock-ups and the outer prison walls.

Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson said:

At the height of the riot, prisoners took over areas of the Winson Green prison, starting fires, destroying records and damaging equipment. Credit: BPM.

G4S, which operates HMP Birmingham, said that it was still too soon to put a cost on the extensive damage but it is thought the bill could run into millions of pounds, with two prison wings particularly badly damaged.

As well as the need for replacement locks, there has been fire damage, electrical damage, paint damage and flooding in some areas.

The prison moved out nearly a third of all its prisoners in the aftermath of the riots with around 500 inmates taken to 30 different prisons across the country.

As well as the need for replacement locks, there has been fire damage, electrical damage, paint damage and flooding in some areas. Credit: BPM.

Former inmates said tension had been rising at the prison for some time with claims that prisoner activities had been restricted because of a shortage of prison staff.

HMP Birmingham has also had problems with the increasing use of psychoactive drugs such as Mamba, a legal high until it was banned.