MLA calls for probe into prison officers’ £250k injury claims

A CALL for an independent investigation into personal injury claims that led to almost £250,000 being paid out to prison officers at HM Prison Magilligan has been made by the SDLP’s John Dallat.

The figure relates to 24 claims made by staff at the Co Londonderry jail from 2014 to 2017.

East Londonderry MLA John Dallat wants the Northern Ireland Audit Office to probe the foundation of each claim and whether or not any were subject to a legal challenge from the Prison Service.

Some £126,000 was paid out in 2014. The amount steadily fell over the following four years. In 2015, £77,850 was paid out, while in 2016 it was £23,500. It reached a low of £17,000 last year.

Ivor Dunne, the Northern Ireland chairman of the Prison Officers’ Association, said submitting personal injury claims were often the only course of redress open to staff, but even that has become increasingly difficult.

He added: “Prison officers are facing attacks that would be considered an assault if they happened to a member of the public, but these are considered part of the job for a prison officer.

“They are being spat at and having pots of excrement thrown at them. Attacks like this pose a very real threat to a prison officer, not just the obvious dangers to their physical health, because it puts them at risk of hepatitis B or Aids, but it also affects their mental health.

“A personal injury claim is often the only option open to a prison officer, but this is being made more difficult.

“An officer can only claim three times, no matter how many times they have been attacked.

“Now an officer has to sue the Department of Justice for negligence, and that takes longer to go through the courts.”

However, Mr Dallat said it was in the public interest to know the details of the claims.

He added: “I shall be referring this to the Audit Office for an independent investigation.

“I will want to know how many of these 24 cases were contested by the prison’s legal team in the interests of taxpayers, and I will be particularly interested in how the annual bill was reduced from a whopping £126,000 to £17,000 in a short period of time.

“Clearly another issue is the suitability of Magilligan as a safe place to work, given the failure to invest in new buildings.”