Oakwood jail a dangerous place to work, says prison officers association

It urged the Government to take control of the 1,600 inmate South Staffordshire prison that was the scene of violent disorder on Sunday and is run by private company G4S.

The POA declared in a hard hitting statement: "We call on Ministers to acknowledge our concerns with regard to the management of incidents at HMP Oakwood. The Government should be brave and decisive to prevent an unfolding tragedy.

"In the interests of POA members, the prisoners in their care and in order to protect the public we call upon the Government to place HMP Oakwood under the direct operational control of the public sector. It is a dangerous and unsafe place to work."

Twenty prisoners were involved in Sunday night's trouble which lasted more than nine hours.

The POA also voiced concerns of the 'continued operational viability' of the prison and cited a catalogue of failings since it opened in April 2012 and the jail being ridiculed as Jokewood.

But Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling backed the jail and insisted: " If you look at the rate of trouble in Oakwood it is not anywhere near the top of the league table. It is average for disturbance and problems in prisons which are always going to happen. Prisoners are always going to kick up and cause trouble, Oakwood is no different to anywhere else."

G4S said: "The mobilisation of any prison is a complex and challenging operation but the size and scale of Oakwood – the largest prison in the country –makes this even more acute. As well as the logistical hurdles in new establishments, prisoners test the regime as well as the staff, many of whom may be new to prison life.

"Since the publication of the HMIP report last year we have taken steps to make improvements, appointing an experienced director from one of the country's best performing prisons, establishing a dedicated task force to address problem areas."