Damning report shows increase in violence and self-harm at Wormwood Scrubs, with prisoners locked in cells for up to 23 hours a day

By Jacob Phillips, Local Democracy Reporter

Wormwood Scrubs prisoners are being fed frozen oranges and face up to 23 hours a day trapped in their cells, a new report has revealed.

An increase in violence and self-harm has been recorded at the prison, in Du Cane Road, White City, and one inmate was left 14 days without a change of clothes.

“Dirty protests,” where inmates smear faeces, also regularly happen in the prison’s isolated cells, and other wards have been left in freezing conditions or next to scolding hot pipes.

An Independent Monitoring Board published on Tuesday revealed the shocking conditions inside the prison between 2021 and 2022.

There were six deaths in custody during the year, three which were self-inflicted.

There was also a concerning increase in the number of self-harm incidents. The independent board believed this could have been caused by a stricter Covid regime and by some prisoners repeatedly self-harming.

The number of self-harm incidents spiked between October and March, coinciding in part with the reintroduction of stricter Covid-19 restrictions, before settling back down.

The prison had also seen a sharp increase in prisoners fighting.

In the winter months, prisoners on the E wing were also left in freezing conditions. Reports on the D wing also complained about extreme cold.

In other areas of the prison, inmates complained about scalding pipes and intolerable heat.

There was also an ongoing issue with cancellations of hospital appointments caused by a shortage of escorting officers, the report added.

Some prisoners are able to do some work while in prison and visit the gym, but unemployed men can find themselves locked in their cells for 23 hours.

The library was also closed at the prison and inmates could only ask for books to be sent to their cells.

The report added that education was seriously depleted and there had not been face-to-face teaching for a year.

To make matters worse prisoners were not always given clean clothing.

The report described one case where a disabled prisoner was left stranded in the first night centre without a change of clothes for 14 days while the prison looked for ground floor accommodation to meet his disability needs.

Pictured top: Wormwood Scrubs (Picture: Wikimedia Commons/Chmee2)