JUSTICE Secretary David Gauke failed in his duty to prevent unlawful strip searches at a privately run women’s prison, the High Court heard today.

Four claimants allege they were subject to unlawful strip searches in July and September 2017 at HMP Peterborough, which is run by Sodexo Justice Services.

The firm has admitted the searches were in breach of the claimants’ rights and that there was a “systemic failure” to follow the relevant prison instruction (PSI) on searches.

But the claimants also say that the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) failed in its duty to “provide adequate and effective safeguards” at the prison.

Jason Pobjoy said the MoJ “has contracted out of the government’s core public functions and, in doing so, has authorised private contractors to conduct strip searches on female prisoners at HMP Peterborough.”

He said the PSI was “insufficient” and that Mr Gauke was “required to put in place appropriate supervision and monitoring to ensure that [the PSI] was effectively implemented.”

Mr Pobjoy argued that “there were manifest and systemic failings in the way that strip searching was supervised and monitored” at Peterborough despite critical reports by the Inspectorate of Prisons in 2014 and 2018.

He said that Mr Gauke “was aware, or ought to have been aware, of the problems at HMP Peterborough,” but there had been “no evidence of any action being taken by the Secretary of State” to address the problems until after the claim was issued.

Mr Pobjoy concluded that Mr Gauke’s refusal “to acknowledge anything at all went wrong on his part … indicates he has an extremely narrow conception of what’s required of him.”

The hearing continues.