WINCHESTER prison has been slammed following its latest inspection that found that prisoners were locked up for 23 hours a day in “squalid” conditions.

The inspection, carried out by the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB), said that inmates were not always treated humanely, despite the best efforts of staff, and the facility was little more than a ‘prisoner warehouse’.

Among the other findings in the highly critical report were:

  • staff shortages have limited searches, leading to an increase in drugs and contraband;
  • disabled prisoners cannot access basic facilities;
  • a lack of opportunities inside and services outside the prison means prisoners are not well prepared for release;
  • a restricted regime prevents prisoners from having sufficient time to shower, exercise, make phone-calls or clean their surroundings.

Angus Somerville, chair of HMP/YOI Winchester IMB, said: “HMP/YOI Winchester is little more than an establishment which fulfils the function of ‘warehousing’ prisoners, but we feel that much of what is wrong with the prison comes down to a lack of funding and resources. This means that the good work we do see happening in Winchester is patchy.

“While the total number of uniformed staff has risen during the period, there is no substitute for experience. In May this year, 45-60% of uniformed officers on the wings had less than one year’s experience in their grade.

Monitors say that although the prison was placed in Special Measures in January, it is hard to see any significant improvement.

A pay increase to help retain staff has been recommended.