Women inmates allowed to play bingo despite lockdown

INMATES at a women’s prison were permitted to play bingo in groups of eight despite lockdown laws banning gatherings in excess of two people.

Prisoners at HMP Drake Hall in Staffordshire were allowed to organise supervised bingo sessions with up to eight players.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman confirmed three bingo sessions took place at the weekend but insisted social distancing was observed by the inmates during the games.

“The sessions were supervised, none of the prisoners were showing any symptoms of illness and social distancing was maintained.

“We have robust and flexible plans in place to keep prisoners, staff and the wider public safe based on the latest advice from Public Health England. Personal protective equipment is being provided to officers and all prisons have the soap and cleaning materials they need,” the spokesman added.

The Prison Service and Public Health England has recommended the early release of up to 15,000 prisoners to ensure inmates can safely social distance and to allow older occupants to be shielded. The Ministry of Justice is facing legal action for failing to grant the early release of enough prisoners to combat the spread of the virus in jails.

It plans to release up to 4,000 prisoners with less than two months of their sentences left to complete.

The Prison Reform Trust and Howard League for Penal Reform is seeking a judicial review of the Moj’s actions, arguing that the rate of releases has

‘The sessions were supervised, none of the prisoners were showing any symptoms of illness’

been too slow. Temporary single-occupancy cells are being built at seven jails to stop the spread.

Inmates at a number of facilities told The Times they have been playing pool, mingling in the yard and forced to share facilities. In one unit, up to 20 prisoners claimed they shared a single telephone that was not disinfected between uses and requests for soap and hand sanitisers were not met.

More than 250 prisoners have tested positive for the virus across 62 jails. At least 13 inmates and three prison staff have died.