Plans to improve ‘miserable and filthy’ HMP Wandsworth conditions

By Charlotte Lillywhite, Local Democracy Reporter

Campaigners have set out  demands to improve living and working conditions at HMP Wandsworth, which they described as “miserable and filthy”.

Wandsworth Prison Improvement Campaign (WPIC) said the state of the category B men’s prison leaves prisoners feeling depressed, isolated and with little chance of rehabilitation.

Liz Bridge, the former chaplain at HMP Wandsworth, is leading WPIC to put pressure on the Prison Service to improve conditions. She began to speak out about the conditions inside after she was dismissed from her position in November for donating small amounts of money to prisoners who were about to leave.

Diane Hay, from WPIC, helped Ms Bridge with the charity she founded in the prison, Wandsworth Prison Welfare Trust, which provided resources, support and activities to prisoners.

She said the charity was a “lifeline” for inmates but claimed it has not been able to operate in the prison since Ms Bridge was dismissed from her position.

Ms Hay said the prisoners now “don’t really have very much at all” in the way of books or playing cards – anything to keep themselves away from drugs or self-harming.

She said the prison, which opened in 1851, is in a “state of decay” and this takes a heavy toll on prisoners. It housed 1,655 inmates as of May last year.

Ms Hay said: “It is such a miserable and nasty place to be in and this inevitably brings its own problems of people feeling very lost. You have incidents of self-harm and occasionally you have people trying to take their own lives.”

The Prison Service said it is improving safety and conditions at HMP Wandsworth by recruiting new staff and investing millions of pounds in upgrades. It added staff are being given extra training in suicide and self-harm prevention.

Last September, Daniel Khalife allegedly escaped from the prison under a food delivery van. A watchdog described the prison as “unsafe and inhumane” in a report published following the alleged escape. Mr Khalife is due to go on trial at the Old Bailey in October after pleading not guilty to charges including that he escaped from the prison.

Ms Hay said there are many young, inexperienced prison officers who struggle with the major challenges they face at the prison, which is one of the most overcrowded in the country.

A report from Wandsworth’s Independent Monitoring Board published in September 2022, found there was a staffing crisis, “wholly inadequate physical conditions” and incidents of violence at “alarming levels”.

WPIC has been raising awareness of the state of the prison since launching, and it has now put together”five asks” to make the prison safer.

The requests include, prisoners getting medication and hospital appointments, a plan to deal with rats, pigeons and cockroaches, hot water, heating and flushing toilets, access to clothes, underwear, laundry and showers and easy and regular access to books.

Ms Hay said mums have complained of their sons struggling to access medication in the prison, while inmates’ hospital appointments are cancelled if there are not enough prison officers available.

She said: “The punishment of prison is about taking away somebody’s liberty. It isn’t about leaving them in filthy, dirty conditions.

“We send them to rehabilitate them and to make them better people in society and this terrible regime that they have at Wandsworth just doesn’t do that. It creates people who leave as drug addicts, people who leave not having any prospects for a better life.”

A Prison Service spokesman said: “We’re improving safety and conditions at HMP Wandsworth by boosting staffing levels and investing millions into upgrades such as new CCTV and windows, roof repairs and refurbished healthcare facilities.

“Staff at Wandsworth have also been given additional training in suicide and self-harm prevention, and we are working with the Samaritans to provide further support to prisoners who need it.”

Pictured top: HMP Wandsworth (Picture: Facundo Arrizabalaga)