This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-31737055
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Strangeways riot: Lord Woolf calls for new UK jail inquiry | |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| The former Lord Chief Justice who led the inquiry into Britain's biggest prison riot is calling for a new inquiry into the state of UK jails. | |
| The Rt Hon Lord Woolf says conditions in prisons are now as bad as they were in 1990, when a dramatic siege at Strangeways went on for 25 days. | The Rt Hon Lord Woolf says conditions in prisons are now as bad as they were in 1990, when a dramatic siege at Strangeways went on for 25 days. |
| Two people died and hundreds were injured in a protest against a prison regime that included "slopping out". | Two people died and hundreds were injured in a protest against a prison regime that included "slopping out". |
| Prisons Minister Andrew Selous said all UK prisons had safe population levels. | |
| Lord Woolf said Britain was again "heading for a crisis within prisons". | Lord Woolf said Britain was again "heading for a crisis within prisons". |
| Key players in the Strangeways riot explain their part in the siege | |
| The unrest at Strangeways started on 1 April 1990 and the ensuing siege was the longest in British penal history. | The unrest at Strangeways started on 1 April 1990 and the ensuing siege was the longest in British penal history. |
| Prisoners complained the Victorian site was overcrowded, they were forced to remain in their cells for up to 23 hours a day and had to "slop out" - using only a bucket for a toilet. | Prisoners complained the Victorian site was overcrowded, they were forced to remain in their cells for up to 23 hours a day and had to "slop out" - using only a bucket for a toilet. |
| Lord Woolf, now chair of the Prison Reform Trust, said: "There are things that are better now than then, but I fear we've allowed ourselves to go backwards and we're back where we were at the time of Strangeways. | Lord Woolf, now chair of the Prison Reform Trust, said: "There are things that are better now than then, but I fear we've allowed ourselves to go backwards and we're back where we were at the time of Strangeways. |
| "For a time after the riot things were much better and numbers were going down, [but] unfortunately prisoners are again being kept in conditions that we should not tolerate, they're a long way from home and their families can't keep in touch with them. | "For a time after the riot things were much better and numbers were going down, [but] unfortunately prisoners are again being kept in conditions that we should not tolerate, they're a long way from home and their families can't keep in touch with them. |
| "That's why I would welcome a thorough re-look at the situation and above all trying to take prisons out of politics". | "That's why I would welcome a thorough re-look at the situation and above all trying to take prisons out of politics". |
| Prisons Minister Andrew Selous said: "This government has considerably increased the adult male prison capacity from the level inherited at the end of the last Parliament. | |
| "Yet all prisons have safe population levels and published statistics show that crowding is at its lowest levels since 2007-08. | |
| "Staffing levels were agreed with both prison governors and the unions at the outset and prison officers have done an excellent job during a period when the prison population has unpredictably risen. | |
| "Furthermore, we are absolutely clear that all offenders are expected to engage in purposeful activity to help them find a job on release and turn their backs on crime for good. | |
| "The total number of hours worked in prisons has increased from 10.6 million to 14.2 million in the past four years." | |
| Following the disturbance, Lord Woolf published a report in 1992 making more than 200 recommendations. | Following the disturbance, Lord Woolf published a report in 1992 making more than 200 recommendations. |
| They included an end to "slopping out", increased contact between prisoners and their families, and better rehabilitation of offenders. | They included an end to "slopping out", increased contact between prisoners and their families, and better rehabilitation of offenders. |
| Strangeways was later rebuilt at a cost of £90m and renamed HMP Manchester. | Strangeways was later rebuilt at a cost of £90m and renamed HMP Manchester. |
| Inside Out is broadcast on BBC One North West on Monday, 23 March at 19:30 GMT and nationwide on the iPlayer for 30 days thereafter. | Inside Out is broadcast on BBC One North West on Monday, 23 March at 19:30 GMT and nationwide on the iPlayer for 30 days thereafter. |