Staff at Britain’s most violent prison paid £600k in personal injury claims

Staff at Britain’s most violent prison have received more than £600,000 in personal injury claims since 2019, data shows.

The figures, obtained by Accident Claims through Freedom of Information requests, show £616,213 worth of claim costs paid out to staff at HMP Wandsworth in the past five years.

In 2022/23 alone, personal injury claims at the Category B men’s prison stood at £499,914.

Personal injury claims lodged by prison staff are submitted for accidents such as slips and trips, muscle strains or assaults by inmates while performing their duties.

HMP Wandsworth is the most violent of any British prison, having registered 571 assaults on staff in 2023 – double that of the next-highest prison, HMP Five Wells.

In May, a catastrophic inspection of HMP Wandsworth led Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, to write to the then Secretary of State invoking an Urgent Notification for improvement.

Responding to the Urgent Notification in August, the Government announced emergency plans to redirect £100million from across the Prison Service to be spent at Wandsworth over five years, as well as the deployment of specialist staff. 

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: “Our jails are overcrowded, and our hardworking staff are over-stretched. 

“By addressing this crisis, we can begin the work of improving prison conditions to reduce the need for compensation claims and ensure taxpayer money is spent more effectively.

“The Government is investing in prison maintenance and security, and prisoners who are violent towards staff or other prisoners will face the full consequences of their actions.”

Pictured top: HMP Wandsworth (Picture: Facundo Arrizabalaga)