G4S: No intelligence of riot plots at Oakwood Prison
Bosses overseeing Oakwood Prison say there is 'no intelligence' that trouble could flare there following the explosive riots in Birmingham and Kent.
Problems with drugs and a perceived lack of staff in the nation's jails have been highlighted following last week's disturbance at Winson Green in which four wings of the Birmingham prison were taken over by inmates.
Concerns over the state of jails was heightened on Thursday when around 60 inmates seized control of part of a wing and lit fires at HMP Swaleside in Kent.
But Jerry Petherick managing director of custodial and detention service at G4S, the private firm which runs Winson Green as well as Oakwood, said the jail at Featherstone, is a well-operated prison.
Mr Petherick, said: "There is no particular intelligence around the possibility of riots taking place at Oakwood.
"I spoke to Oakwood very recently to check how things were and it was a positive response that I got. Oakwood is a very good prison and they have done an outstanding job there which I am very pleased with."
Staff at HMP Oakwood and HMP Featherstone were told to be extra vigilant following the trouble at HMP Birmingham, which saw prisoners smashing their way through the Victorian buildings, wrecking offices and lighting fires on Friday.
Thousands of locks now need replacing costing around £750,000.
Mr Petherick confirmed 517 prisoners have been transferred, with some moving to Oakwood.
He also stressed the bravery of G4S staff and specialist teams who were called in to quell the riot. He said: "The sheer naked courage of what was a small group of people on that Friday was so impressive. To listen to some of them describe what they did is astonishing and people in this region need to start thinking more clearly about what the staff do."
Justice Secretary Liz Truss announced earlier this week that Sarah Payne, adviser to the independent chief inspector of probation and former director of the Welsh prison service, would lead an investigation into the Birmingham riot.
On Thursday prisoners took over a landing at HMP Swaleside shortly before 7pm. The disturbance at the category B training prison on the Isle of Sheppey was suppressed after several hours.
According to Ministry of Justice figures, Oakwood is 16 per cent overcrowded putting it among the worst in the country.
West Midlands Ambulance Service wascalled to HMP Oakwood 257 times between January and October. Oakwood's neighbours HMP Featherstone had 176 call outs during the same period while Brinsford, the young offenders institute on the same site, had 21.
