Prisons watchdog slams ‘crisis’ jail
plan to take the “moral high ground” by unilaterally granting the 3.8 million EU nationals in the UK the right to stay. It will mean EU citizens in the UK would be able to continue accessing the benefits system. THE number of babies dying from unexplained causes has increased for the first time in three years, new figures show.
There were 219 deaths caused by sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or without a known cause in England and Wales in 2016.
This is up from 195 the previous year and the highest number since 2013 when there were 252.
SIDS is the sudden, unexpected and unexplained death of an otherwise seemingly healthy baby. GATWICK AIRPORT is using whiteboards to display flight information following an IT failure.
Staff have resorted to manually writing out crucial information such as gate numbers for each departure from the UK’s second busiest airport. Some passengers have missed their flights due to the issue, which the West Sussex airport said was caused by damage to a fibre optic cable.
August is one of the busiest periods of the year for airports as many families embark on summer holidays.
A Gatwick spokesman said: “Due to an ongoing issue with Vodafone – a provider of IT THE prisons watchdog has accused the Ministry of Justice of failing to stop one of the country’s largest prisons slipping into crisis.
Peter Clarke suggested “somebody must have been asleep at the wheel” for conditions at HMP Birmingham to deteriorate so drastically.
Mr Clarke, the chief inspector of prisons, lamented “institutional inertia” as he published a devastating assessment of the jail.
His report said staff were found asleep or locked in offices during an inspection that uncovered “appalling” squalor and violence. Some inmates were so frightened they reported feeling unsafe behind locked cell doors – while violent prisoners could act with “near impunity”.
Many staff felt fearful and unsafe after a number of incidents, including an arson attack that destroyed nine vehicles in a car park.
Mr Clarke’s inspection team found blatant use of illegal substances went largely unchallenged amid a “looming lack of control”. At one point, staff were said to have shrugged when inspectors pointed out that drugs were being smoked. services for Gatwick – flight information is not being displayed correctly on the airport’s digital screens and is currently being displayed manually in the terminals.”
He added that a “handful of people have missed their flights” due to the problem.
Ayla Herbert, 26, from Penryn, Cornwall,
As Mr Clarke’s findings were revealed, the MoJ confirmed it has taken control of the privately run jail after ministers concluded “drastic action” was required.
The chief inspector said: “How is it that in 18 months a prison which is supposedly being run under the auspices of a tightly managed contract, how has that been allowed to deteriorate?
“There are Ministry of Justice officials onsite permanently, and yet somehow there seems to have been some sort of institutional inertia that has allowed this prison to deteriorate to this completely unacceptable state.”
Asked whether the MoJ had failed, Mr Clarke told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: encountered a crowd gathered around two whiteboards after passing through security.
She said: “Each flight was written down. The guys did well keeping everyone updated, but it was hard to see if you weren’t close to the board. They used megaphones to tell everyone of updated information.” “I think that’s the only reasonable conclusion you can come to.”
He added: “It cannot be the case that the only time urgent action is taken to restore decency in a prison is when an inspection report is published. Surely somebody must have been asleep at the wheel?”
From yesterday, HM Prison and Probation Service took over the running of the jail from G4S for an initial six-month period.
Following the highly unusual intervention, an HMPPS governor has taken charge, an initial 30 extra officers are to be deployed to bolster staffing levels, and the jail’s capacity is being reduced by 300 places.
The Government, which has stressed there will be no additional cost to the taxpayer, says the action was taken following an “extended period” of working with G4S in an attempt to drive up standards at the jail.
Multiple “improvement notices” have been issued this year, according to the MoJ.
It said steps had already been taken to reduce the capacity, re-balance the population and provide additional funding for body-worn cameras, drug detection equipment and netting.