Latest editorial
A Prisons Violence Bill proposed by Morris failed to get on to the statue book before Parliament’s last session ended in April.
[Jess Hurd/POA]
LABOUR MP Grahame Morris hit out at the Tory government today for failing to table “desperately needed” legislation in last week’s Queen’s Speech to tackle worsening prison violence.
The MP for Easington in County Durham said ministers were not doing enough to protect vulnerable prison officers from assaults at work, despite “nodding their approval” on calls for action during debates in the Commons.
A Prisons Violence Bill proposed by the back-bencher, who has long campaigned for workers in the sector via the justice unions parliamentary group, failed to get on to the statue book before Parliament’s last session ended in April.
Our members face serious violence, crumbling workplaces and exposure to dangerous drugs — it is outrageous we still cannot legally use our industrial muscle to fight back and defend ourselves, writes STEVE GILLAN
Working in a high-risk sector, prison officers’ calls for proper PPE must be heeded – and the POA will be fighting to ensure effective protection at work is delivered, writes MARK FAIRHURST