Location | Western Way, Thamesmead, London, SE28 0EB |
---|---|
Security class | Adult Male/Category A |
Capacity | 792 |
Population | 675(as of August 2021) |
Opened | 1991 |
Managed by | HM Prison Services |
Governor | Jenny Louis |
Website | Belmarsh at justice.gov.uk |
His Majesty's Prison Belmarsh is a Category A men's prison in Thamesmead, southeast London, England. The prison is used for high-profile cases, particularly those concerning national security. Within the grounds is the High Security Unit (HSU), which consists of 48 single cells. It is run by His Majesty's Prison Service. The prison has been called "Britain's Guantanamo Bay" due to the long-term detention of terrorism suspects without charge. [1] Considered the toughest prison in the UK, Belmarsh is also notoriously known as "Hellmarsh" due to the high number of physical and authority abuses reported by both the prison's inmates (including former politician Jeffrey Archer, who coined the name and was imprisoned there for four years for perjury), and by human rights activists. [2]
Belmarsh Prison was built on part of the East site of the former Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, and became operational on 2 April 1991. It adjoins Woolwich Crown Court. [3]
In 1991, the Double A Cat prisoner armed robber Ronnie Field, an associate of London gangland boss Joey Pyle, was the first person to be held in Belmarsh's High Security Unit, shortly followed by members of the Arif firm and those convicted of the £10 million Gatwick airport diamond heist. [4]
Between 2001 and 2002, Belmarsh Prison was used to detain a number of people indefinitely without charge or trial under the provisions of Part 4 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, leading it to be called the "British version of Guantanamo Bay". [5] The Law Lords later ruled in A v Secretary of State for the Home Dept that such imprisonment was discriminatory and against the Human Rights Act 1998. [6]
It is often used for the detention of prisoners for terrorist-related offences. In September 2006, 51 such prisoners were held. [7]
In 2009, an archaeological dig on the site led to the discovery of a 6,000-year-old trackway, the oldest known wooden trackway in northern Europe with the exception of the Sweet Track near Glastonbury. [8]
In November 2009, an inspection report from the Chief Inspector of Prisons criticised the "extremely high" amount of force used to control inmates. [9] The report also stated that an unusually high number of prisoners had reported being intimidated or victimised by staff.
In 2010, HMP Isis Young Offenders Institution was opened within the perimeter wall. [10]
Belmarsh is a Category A Prison holding inmates from all over England and Wales. It also houses other categories of prisoners from primarily the Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey) and Magistrates' Courts in South East London as well as Crown and Magistrates' Courts in South West Essex. Accommodation at the prison is a mixture of approximately 60% multi-occupancy cells and 40% single cells, distributed mainly across four residential units. [11]
Inmates at Belmarsh are offered access to education, workshops [11] and two gyms. The gym staff have a partnership with Charlton Athletic F.C. to deliver FA accredited coaching courses for prisoners. [12]
A listener scheme for prisoners at risk from suicide or self-harm is in operation as is a support group providing advice on immigration law for foreign national prisoners. [11]
Jenny Louis, governor of HM Prison Belmarsh, Britain’s first female black governor accused of bullying staff. The outcome of the investigation and any subsequent actions taken regarding these allegations have not been reported. [13]
HM Prison Wandsworth is a Category B men's prison at Wandsworth in the London Borough of Wandsworth, South West London, England. It is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service and is one of the largest prisons in the UK.
HM Prison Manchester is a Category A and B men's prison in Manchester, England, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. It is still commonly referred to as Strangeways, which was its former official name derived from the area in which it is located, until it was rebuilt following a major riot in 1990.
HM Prison Birmingham is a Category B men's prison in the Winson Green area of Birmingham, England, operated by HM Prison and Probation Service.
HM Prison Barlinnie is the largest prison in Scotland. It is operated by the Scottish Prison Service and is located in the residential suburb of Riddrie, in the north east of Glasgow, Scotland. It is informally known locally as The Big Hoose, Bar and Bar-L. In 2018, plans for its closure were announced.
HM Prison Frankland is a Category A men's prison located in the village of Brasside in County Durham, England. Frankland is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, and is located next to HM Prison Low Newton, a closed women's prison.
HM Prison Low Newton is a closed prison for female adults and young offenders in Brasside, County Durham, England. The prison, which is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, is next to HMP Frankland, a Category A men's prison. Notable inmates at the prison include formerly Rosemary West, as well as spree killer Joanna Dennehy and serial killer Lucy Letby.
His Majesty's Prison Wakefield is a Category A men's prison in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. The prison has been nicknamed the "Monster Mansion" due to the large number of high-profile, high-risk sex offenders and murderers held there.
HM Prison Wayland is a Category C men's prison, located near the village of Griston in Norfolk, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
HM Prison Full Sutton is a Category A and B men's prison in the village of Full Sutton, near Pocklington in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Full Sutton is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, and holds 596 inmates, as of September 2018. The prison's primary function is to hold, in conditions of high security, some of the most difficult and dangerous criminals in the country.
HM Prison Peterborough is a Category B private prison for men, and a closed prison for women and female young offenders, located in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The prison is operated by Sodexo Justice Services, and is the only dual purpose-built prison holding males and females in the United Kingdom. The prison, which has a population of around 1,100 inmates, comprises four large wings, each with a separate housing arrangement for female detainees and male detainees. It is managed by the Newton Secure Training Centre (NSTC), and the associated training centre, which operates under Sodexo Services, comprises 26 housing units, ranging from 12-storey purpose built units to 10-storey semiprivate accommodation units.
HM Prison Styal is a Closed Category prison for female adults and young offenders in Styal, Cheshire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
HM Prison Eastwood Park is a women's closed category prison, located in the village of Falfield in South Gloucestershire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
HM Prison Littlehey is a Category C male prison in the village of Perry near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, England. Littlehey Prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. The Prison only holds those that have been convicted of a sexual offence.
HM Prison Moorland is a Category C men's prison and Young Offenders Institution, near Hatfield Woodhouse in South Yorkshire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, and is jointly managed with the nearby Hatfield Prison.
HM Prison Rye Hill is a Category B men's private prison, operated by G4S. Rye Hill has exclusively housed sex offenders since 2014. The prison is next to HMP Onley and Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre, south of Rugby, in the parish of Barby, Northamptonshire, England. However, the postal address of the prison is Willoughby, Warwickshire; therefore, most sources list the prison as in Willoughby, Warwickshire.
HMP New Hall is a closed-category prison for female adults, juveniles, and young offenders. The prison is located in the village of Flockton in West Yorkshire, England. New Hall is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
HM Prison La Moye is a mixed-use prison on the island of Jersey. La Moye is currently Jersey's only prison, and is situated within the boundaries of the Vingtaine de la Moye. It is operated by the Jersey Prison Service, part of the Department of Home Affairs.
Dispersal prisons are five secure prisons in the United Kingdom that houses Category A prisoners. The idea of the dispersal prison was initiated after a report submitted by Earl Mountbatten in 1966 after some notorious prison escapes. It was decided that special secure units should be built to enable the allocation of Category A prisoners to them, but to also allow the prison authorities the option to 'disperse' a prisoner to one of the other units at short notice. Whilst seven secure units were intended, the actual number has fluctuated over the years with a core selection of five still remaining.
Kevan Thakrar is an English prisoner who has spent over a decade in solitary confinement in Close Supervision Centres (CSCs) in various UK prisons. Thakrar received a sentence of life imprisonment with a minimum term of 35 years under joint enterprise in 2008, after an incident in which he and his brother Miran entered a house in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, then Miran murdered three men. Whilst incarcerated, Thakrar attacked three prison officers and was acquitted by a jury after being charged with attempted murder. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment raised concerns about Thakrar's treatment in 2021 and Thakrar was subsequently moved into a segregated ward at HMP Belmarsh. He remains in the CSC system and launched a judicial review in April 2023.