Inmates ‘taking over’ one of country’s biggest prisons

Inmates have effectively taken over one of Britain’s biggest prisons, an investigation has found.

The scale of the problem was highlighted by last night’s Panorama on BBC One, after an investigation into HMP Northumberland, which is run by Sodexo Justice Services.

A BBC reporter spent two months undercover as a custody officer in the prison, which houses 1,348 men. He said inmates were effectively running the jail, where he saw widespread drug abuse. Footage showed an officer having convulsions after accidentally inhaling spice, a synthetic alternative to cannabis.

The Ministry of Justice said it would investigate. Sodexo said the safety of prisoners and staff was its top priority.

It came as Liz Truss, the Justice Secretary, said prison numbers cannot be cut with “dangerous quick fix” solutions in a speech yesterday.