Inspectors raise fears over violence in prisons

The director of the Prison Reform Trust has called a south east London Young Offenders institution "grossly under-staffed, cash-strapped, overcrowded warehouse", after inspectors warned that there were signs of increasing violence at Isis due to its high population of gang members. Juliet Lyon said:

The Governor and his staff have done some excellent work with the police to challenge gang affiliation in prisons, the chief executive of the National Offender Management Service said, after inspectors warned over high levels of violence. Michael Spurr added:

The Justice Secretary has denied UK prisons are in crisis, despite a rise in assaults by prisoners in England and Wales.

Chris Grayling's comments come as the latest surprise inspection of a facility in London found high levels of violence at the Isis prison with a high population of gang members.

Figures released last month by the Ministry of Justice showed a 6% rise in assaults in prisons in the year ending March 2014, up to 15,033 from 14,083 in the previous 12-month period.

Mr Grayling told the BBC: "We're meeting those challenges, we're recruiting more staff. I am absolutely clear there is not a crisis in our prisons".He added that prison violence "is at a lower level today than it was five years ago".

Inspectors have raised fears over high levels of violence at a prison with a high population of gang members, inspectors have warned.

In 2013, there were 254 fights and assaults at Isis prison, which holds young men aged 18 to 30, with 120 in the previous six months, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) said.

Many incidents were serious and some involved gangs at the prison in south-east London, HMIP said, with a higher proportion than usual involving weapons.

There were many planned assaults involving a number of inmates against a single prisoner, and some incidents were known to be gang related, inspectors added.