A PRISON, which prepares men for release, has been condemned for its “decrepit conditions, rising violence, self-harm and widespread illicit drug use.”

Conditions at HMP Rochester in Kent are so bad that HM Prisons Inspectorate has issued a formal “urgent notification” to Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood calling for action. 

The prison is the latest to be condemned after more than a decade of warnings from the Prison Officers’ Association and campaigners about worsening conditions in the prisons estate, including overcrowding, violence, drug abuse and staff shortages.