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| Location | Wandsworth, London, SW18 |
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| Security class | Adult Male/Category B Local |
| Population | 1,562 |
| Opened | 1851 |
| Managed by | HM Prison Services |
| Governor | Katie Price [1] |
| Website | Wandsworth at justice.gov.uk |
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. [2]
The prison was built in 1851, when it was known as Surrey House of Correction. [3] It was designed according to the humane separate system principle: a number of corridors radiate from a central control point with each prisoner having toilet facilities. The toilets were subsequently removed to increase prison capacity and the prisoners had to engage in the process of "slopping out", until 1996. [4]
On 29 July 1879, Catherine Webster was executed for the murder and dismemberment of her mistress, Mrs. Thomas, at Richmond. The murder, which occurred in March, was for the purpose of stealing Mrs. Thomas' property and going to America with a man named Webb. The only witnesses to the execution were the sheriff, the surgeon and the chaplain. No reporters were permitted. The sheriff reported that Mrs. Webster met her death with dignity. The body was buried in a shallow grave on prison grounds and covered in lime. [5]
In 1930, inmate James Edward Spiers, serving a 10-year sentence for armed robbery, took his own life in front of a group of justices of the peace who were there to witness his receiving 15 lashes, then a form of judicial corporal punishment. [6]
In 1951, Wandsworth was the holding prison for a national stock of the birch and the cat o' nine tails, implements for corporal punishment inflicted as a disciplinary penalty under the prison rules. [7] An example of a flogging with the "cat" carried out in Wandsworth Prison itself was reported in July 1954. [8]
On 8 July 1965, Ronnie Biggs escaped from the prison, where he was serving a 30-year sentence for his part in the Great Train Robbery. Two years later he fled to Brazil and remained on the run until 2001, when he returned to the UK. [9]
The prison was originally designed to hold less than a thousand inmates, but as of 2023, there are between 1,300 and 1,500 people currently incarcerated at Wandsworth. [10]
Wandsworth was the site of 135 executions, between 1878 and 1961. Built in 1878, the gallows was located near the A wing. [11] In 1911 a new gallows was built between the E and F wings, and in 1938 a new facility was built at the E wing. [11] Among those executed by hanging were:
(in order by date of execution)
On 25 April 1951, a double execution took place at Wandsworth, when Edward Smith and Joseph Brown stood on the gallows together and were executed simultaneously. The final executions at Wandsworth were those of Francis Forsyth on 10 November 1960, Victor John Terry on 25 May 1961 and Henryk Niemasz on 8 September 1961 (Forsyth was one of just four 18-year-olds executed in a British prison in the twentieth century).
With the exceptions of Scott-Ford, who was convicted of treachery, and Joyce and Amery, who were convicted of treason, all executions were for the crime of murder. The gallows were kept in full working order until 1993 and tested every six months. In 1994, they were dismantled and the condemned suite is now used as a tea room for the prison officers. [11]
The gallows' trapdoor and lever were sent to the Prison Service Museum in Rugby, Warwickshire. After this museum permanently closed in 2004, they were sent to the Galleries of Justice in Nottingham, where those and an execution box may be seen.
In October 2009, gross misconduct charges were brought against managers of Wandsworth Prison, after an investigation found that prisoners had been temporarily transferred to HMP Pentonville before inspections. The transfers, which included vulnerable prisoners, were made in order to manipulate prison population figures. [13]
In March 2011, an unannounced follow-up inspection was conducted by the Chief Inspector of Prisons, which found that "...Wandsworth compared badly with similar prisons facing similar challenges and we were concerned by what appeared to be unwillingness among some prison managers and staff to acknowledge and take responsibility for the problems the prison faced." [14]
In May 2015 a prisoner was found dead in his cell, prompting a murder investigation. [15]
On 11 November 2018, a vulnerable and mentally ill 18-year-old Lithuanian national, Osvaldas Pagirys hung himself in his cell in the prison's segregation unit. Osvaldas, who spoke little-to-no English was on detained for extradition to Lithuania for stealing sweets and hung himself in his cell after a series of failures by the prison. These failings including punishing him for his mental health rather than assisting him, using Google Translate to assess his risk of suicide, not acting on several prior suicide attempts and on the day of his death, not answering his cell emergency bell for nearly an hour, which could have saved his life. [16]
On 6 September 2023, Daniel Abed Khalife, on remand awaiting trial in relation to terrorism and the Official Secrets Act, escaped from the prison. [17] [18] The escape caused significant disruption at airports and ports around the UK due to enhanced security checks. [19] He was found and arrested in the Northolt area on 9 September 2023. [20]
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Wandsworth Prison contains eight wings on two units. The smaller unit, containing three wings, was originally designed for women. This unit will focus and house prisoners who attended full time activities.
Education and training courses are offered at Wandsworth.[ citation needed ] Facilities at the prison include two gyms and a sports hall. The large prison chaplaincy offers chaplains from the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, Mormon, and Jehovah's Witness faiths.
A BBC investigation showed large scale drug abuse and cannabis openly being smoked and harder drugs found. There are allegations of staff corruption, even of staff bringing drugs into the prison. [21] Wandsworth has lost its status as a reform prison. Glyn Travis of the Prison Officers Association said, "Wandsworth staff had bought into the reform process and worked well with the governor to implement the reforms. Now, the prison has lost its reform status and once again, staff and prisoners have been left high and dry as this government's agenda seems to change at the drop of a hat." [22] Wandsworth is the most overcrowded prison in England and body scanners were not used on visitors to prevent contraband being brought into the prison, allegedly due to shortage of staff. Peter Clarke said, "In essence, there were too many prisoners, many with drug-related or mental health issues, and with not enough to do." Also, not all staff carried anti-ligature knives despite six suicides since 2015. [23]
Chris Atkins' [24] book A Bit of a Stretch: The Diaries of a Prisoner [25] describes ongoing poor conditions during his stay in 2016–2017 with many of the touted improvements merely being described on paper rather than in existence in the prison. He describes some of the changes that were attempted as part of the "Prison and Safety Reform (2016)" that were not successful.
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Wandsworth is mentioned in multiple forms of media.
Wandsworth is mentioned in:
Harry Bernard Allen was one of Britain's last official executioners, officiating between 1941 and 1964. He was chief executioner at 41 executions and acted as assistant executioner at 53 others, at various prisons in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and Cyprus. He acted as assistant executioner for 14 years, mostly to Albert Pierrepoint from 1941 to 1955.
HM Prison Pentonville is an English Category B men's prison, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Pentonville Prison is not in Pentonville, but is located further north, on the Caledonian Road in the Barnsbury area of the London Borough of Islington, north London. In 2015 the justice secretary, Michael Gove, described Pentonville as "the most dramatic example of failure" within the prisons estate.
Feltham Young Offenders Institution is a prison for male juveniles and Young Offenders Institution, occupying 0.184 square kilometres south-west of Feltham in the London Borough of Hounslow, in west London, England. It is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
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.
HMP Bronzefield is an adult and young offender female prison located on the outskirts of Ashford in Surrey, England. Bronzefield is the only purpose-built private prison solely for women in the UK, and is the largest female prison in Europe. The prison is operated by Sodexo Justice Services.
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 Wormwood Scrubs is a Category B men's local prison, located beside Hammersmith Hospital and W12 Conferences on Du Cane Road in the White City in West London, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
HM Prison Leicester is a Category B men's Local prison, located on Welford Road in the centre of Leicester, Leicestershire, England. The term 'local' means that the prison holds people on remand to the local courts, as well as sentenced prisoners. Leicester Prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, and is situated immediately north of Nelson Mandela Park.
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 Durham is a Georgian era reception Category B men's prison, located in the Elvet area of Durham in County Durham, England. Built in 1819, the prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Its women prisoners were all moved out to other prisons in 2005 due to overcrowding and suicides.
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 Swansea is a Category B/C men's prison, located in the Sandfields area of Swansea, Wales. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, and is colloquially known as 'Cox's farm', after a former governor.
HM Prison Brixton used to be a local prison but has been since 2012 a Category C training establishment men's prison, located in Brixton area of the London Borough of Lambeth, in inner-South London. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
HMP Bristol is a Category B men's prison, located in the Horfield area of Bristol. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
HM Prison Winchester is a Category B men's prison, located in Winchester, Hampshire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
HMP Bedford is a Category B men's prison, located in the Harpur area of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
HM Prison Chelmsford is a Category B men's prison and Young Offenders Institution, located in Chelmsford, Essex, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
On 6 September 2023, former British Army soldier Daniel Abed Khalife, who was on remand awaiting trial on terrorism charges, allegedly escaped from HM Prison Wandsworth in London. The alleged escape triggered a nationwide police search and delays at major transport hubs. Khalife is believed to have escaped by strapping himself to the bottom of a food delivery lorry while working in the prison's kitchen. After three days allegedly on the run, he was captured by the Metropolitan Police in Northolt, London.
51°27′00.5″N0°10′39.5″W / 51.450139°N 0.177639°W
