Jail key bungle BOSSES PUT IT ON YOUTUBE
PRISON bosses have admitted a serious security blunder after showing a jail key on YouTube.
The Ministry of Justice uploaded an official video on to the internet to showcase the work of the Prison Service. But clearly visible in one clip filmed at HMP Coldingley in Bisley, Surrey, is a key used at the prison.
The v i deo was available for anyone to view for more than a year before the security blunder was spotted and the clip removed. The alarm was raised by a member of staff at HMP Coldingley who was horrified to see the key that could easily be copied.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman admitted the mistake “wasn’t ideal”.
He said the Category C prison had conducted an urgent “i mpact assessment”, but he did not believe any locks needed to be changed.
That is in stark contrast to a private firm which did change locks after an image of keys appeared on the web.
Last year every lock was changed at the prison after a picture on social media showing an inmate brandishing a huge set of keys, which was circulated around the world.
The keys had been photographed by an inmate and uploaded to the net.
Private firm G4S changed the locks at HMP Birmingham amid fears a copy could be made from the picture alone. The company said at the time: “These guys can just look at a key and then replicate it.
“Given the publicity given to the keys we cannot take any risk.”
And the total public bill for lost prison keys over a decade to 2015 was £2million, a Freedom of Information request revealed.