PRISON safety has hit a record low with no sign of an improvement in rates of violence and self-harm on the horizon, the Parole Board warned yesterday.

Board chairman Nick Hardwick said the latest jail safety figures were “appalling” and the “worst they have ever been.”

His damning assessment came just days after an inmate died in a stabbing at Pentonville prison in north London.

Referring to data showing rising numbers of killings behind bars, Mr Hardwick said: “I don’t believe this recent increase is a coincidence.

“It is the most extreme example of the decline in safety that I … have been warning about for years.”

Mr Hardwick said his annual reports in his previous role as chief inspector of prisons had charted the “accelerating decline in prison safety.”

The situation is now “more serious than ever,” he stressed.

“The meaning of the increase in suicides, assaults and murders we are seeing now is not just the awful consequences for the prisoners, staff and families involved but the evidence they provide of a loss of control of our prisons.

“I see no sign that the number of homicides, self-inflicted deaths, self-harm incidents and assaults will not continue to rise.”

The government has announced plans to spend £14 million on employing more than 400 extra staff in 10 of the most challenging prisons.

But, while welcoming the decision, Mr Hardwick said it “does not compensate for the thousands of staff who have [been] taken out of prisons over the last few years,” adding: “I am afraid there are a lot more than 10 prisons in trouble.”

The Prison Officers Association said it could not comment on the most recent incident, as it was in the hands of the police, but agreed that “the unprecedented rise in violence in all of our prisons must not be underestimated.”

A POA spokesman said: “There have been a significant number of suspicious deaths in prisons, which the police have been investigating over the last 18 months.

“We now ask for the Ministry of Justice to fully investigate this matter and the underlying problems within the prison estate.”