Prisoners set off bomb they made with coffee whitener from canteen
PRISONERS detonated an explosive device made using tea and coffee whitener swiped from their jail canteen.
The bomb hidden in a plastic container erupted under a stairwell at Cardiff prison – which has been criticised as understaffed and awash with drugs and violence.
The disturbing incident highlights the crisis engulfing jails where violence has reached record levels according to official figures this week.
Police arrested four prisoners and are investigating. Three of the men have been released from inquiries, but one is still being questioned over the blast at the category B prison. It happened on June 15 but details have only just emerged.
It is thought the main ingredient of the bomb was flammable powder used as a substitute for milk. Such products are said to be highly explosive when ground into dust.
Witnesses saw an inmate slide the container across the floor before it detonated with a flash and a bang. Police said it was a ‘minor incident’ and no one was hurt. But yesterday critics said it was an indictment of a failing prison system.
Prison officers union the POA also blamed cuts to prison activities such as education workshops for breeding boredom and mischief among inmates. It called for the withdrawal of tea and coffee whiteners from all prisons.
The Ministry of Justice and South Wales Police divulged details of the incident after a guard at the prison told Plaid Cymru Welsh Assembly member Bethan Jenkins. She said the incident was not terror-related, but could have formed part of a plot to take over the 800-inmate prison which was recently found to be dangerously understaffed.
She said: ‘I was told that if they rose up, they would be able to take over in less than ten minutes, and that this was close to actually happening recently.
‘The staff member implied that they were very shortstaffed also and so they are wor- ried that they would not be able to react sufficiently in an emergency situation. Staff rely on prisoners behaving so that no serious incidents take place.’
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said the matter had been referred to the police and would not comment further.
The Howard League for Penal Reform criticised Cardiff prison after inspections last year revealed it was overcrowded and understaffed.
Prisoners said it was easier to find drugs than clean bedding. Cardiff University science expert Dr Ben Ward explained how coffee and tea whiteners can be turned into explosives if set alight.
He said: ‘ Any very finely divided organic powder like coffee and tea whiteners is combustible and can really burn quite quickly.
‘The smaller the particles, the more likely they are to burn and if they burn quickly enough they can cause an explosion. It’s the same with tiny grains of flour, custard powder and coal dust which was a major cause of explosions in coal mines.’
Yesterday the Daily Mail reported figures revealing a surge in prison violence in the past year.
Assaults on staff and inmates have risen 20 per cent to a record 26,643, according to the Ministry of Justice statistics.
Serious violence against wardens is up 32 per cent to 805, with officers routinely stabbed, slashed, bottled or beaten up. The number needing hospital treatment hit 2,771, an increase of 13 per cent.
The performance of almost half the prisons in England and Wales was considered of concern or of serious concern.
‘A major cause of explosions’