by Phil Chamberlain
A European anti-torture watchdog has criticised overcrowded conditions in Britain’s jails. The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture was set up to monitor abuses of the European Convention on Human Rights and carries out spot checks on detention centres right across Europe.
For their British inspection, investigators visited a number of prisons and found what they call a culture of “chronic overcrowding”.
Their report highlights HMP Manchester which should hold 960 inmates and has an operational capacity of 1,265. When the committee visited, it was holding 1,189 inmates.
The report says: “CPT has already indicated in previous reports that cells measuring 8.5 metres or less are acceptable for one person but provide only cramped accommodation for two. However, the vast majority of prisoners at Manchester were doubled up in cells of 8.5 metres or smaller.”
In its response, the Government has outlined various strategies it has in place for reducing overcrowding but says there are no plans to reduce doubling-up, which can be done on the orders of a senior prison officer.
While visiting Manchester, investigators were shocked to find an Iranian man, who had served a sentence for arson, still in the high security wing a year after he should have been released. He was due to be deported but as Iran refused to accept him back and he was considered an escape risk he remained in prison.
Efforts to tackle bullying and racism were criticised as lacklustre, medical support described as insufficient and prisoners, the report says, spend too little time out of their cells.
The Government says progress has been made in all the areas identified by the CPT.
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