BEDFORD prison has become the fifth jail to receive an urgent notification for improvement after inspectors found rampant violence, squalid conditions and spiralling self-harm.

Inspectors who visited HMP Bedford in late October and early this month found that it had the highest level of violence against staff and the third-highest rate of self-harm of any adult male prison in the country.

Staff use of force was also worryingly high, with inspectors seeing many examples of excessive force and unprofessional behaviour.

Prison officers, inmates and managers also told the inspection team that they had witnessed racism in the jail. 

Three-quarters of prisoners were living in overcrowded conditions, with most spending over 22 hours locked in cells.

Inspectors found dirty, graffitied cells with broken windows and black mould on the walls, along with widespread infestation of rats and cockroaches.  

HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor has written to Justice Secretary Alex Chalk calling for urgent action.

He said: “This latest inspection is a damning indictment of the state of prisons.

“Many of the issues we found at Bedford reflect wider problems across the estate.”

Howard League for Penal Reform chief executive Andrea Coomber described the report as “devastating,” saying: “These jails share chronic problems of overcrowding and staff shortages, and the fact that they have not recovered, in spite of government action plans and promises of intervention and resources, speaks volumes about the state of the system as a whole.

“Exactly 250 years ago, John Howard visited Bedford prison and was so horrified by the conditions that he devoted the rest of his life to reform. It is scandalous that we are having the same conversation today.”

Prison Reform Trust chief executive Pia Sinha also warned that many of the problems at the prison were “symptomatic of a wider crisis of staff retention, prison capacity and underinvestment.”

She said: “The pattern of too few inexperienced staff looking after too many prisoners in cramped and squalid conditions is one repeated across the estate.

“However, questions must also be asked as to why Bedford has not learnt the lessons of the past or been able to implement sustainable change.”

Prisons Minister Edward Argar said: “The findings of this inspection are unacceptable which is why we are taking immediate action to address the concerns raised. This includes deploying extra staff to enhance safety and we will shortly publish an action plan to set out what further measures we’re implementing to drive the improvement that needs to be made.

“Across the estate we are boosting officer numbers – with almost 1,500 more employed over the last year – and have increased starting salaries to more than £30,000 which is helping to improve retention. We are also pressing ahead with our plans to deliver the biggest prison expansion since the Victoria era by investing £4 billion to build 20,000 new places.”