South Staffordshire prison opened despite work not finished
Building work was not finished at a South Staffordshire jail when it opened to prisoners, and inmates did not have have toilet paper for the first few days, a critical report has revealed.
HMP Oakwood's builders and contractors Kier are still returning to the purpose-built titan jail to sort out 'deficiencies' in its original design, which cost £150 million to make a reality, it has emerged.
That included another £400,000 outlay to improve the radio system at the jail in Featherstone to cover 'many black spots' partly caused by its metal walls.
The issues were laid bare in the jail's first annual report, conducted by an Independent Monitoring Board.
The report stated: "Balfour Beatty, the builder, and Kier, the contractor, have been in the prison dealing with deficiencies and are not expected to complete the remedial work until later in 2013."
Bosses at G4S, which runs the jail, said opening a new prison was 'challenging' but praised the staff for performing 'beyond the board's expectations'.
