Inspectors find only 'slow and weak' progress at 'Dickensian' HMP Manchester

A prison in Manchester has only made "slow and weak progress" in areas where it was urged to improve, according to inspectors.

HMP Manchester, which is still commonly known by its old name Strangeways, underwent an Independent Review of Progress in June, 11 months after the Chief Inspector of Prisons, Peter Clarke, said it needed to "up its game"

• Violence triples at HMP Manchester

Mr Clarke said two thirds of their recommendations had not been sufficiently addressed.

"Assaults on prisoners had reduced significantly since the full inspection, and we judged there to have been reasonable progress in this area, (but) if the establishment is to reduce violence further, particularly against staff, the lengthy list of actions aimed at reducing violence should be prioritised."

The report found that the use of force by staff remained high.

There have been three self-inflicted deaths in the prison since the full inspection in July 2018.

"It was bewildering to find that actions to prevent deaths in custody simply had not been reviewed until shortly before our visit.

"Similarly, the introduction of key work and wing peer support had been so slow that we could not yet see sufficient progress in this area," said Mr Clarke."

He's calling for a "fundamental shift in attitude" towards report findings.