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POA members protest outside HMP Bedford today after a damning report warned of a ‘dangerous lack of control’ at the jail
MINISTERS’ legal threats against prison officers protesting against dangerous conditions were slammed by Labour and the trade unions today.
The POA launched protests outside dozens of jails tis morning after Chief Inspector of Prisons Peter Clarke invoked the urgent notification protocol at HMP Bedford.
Mr Clarke told Justice Secretary David Gauke that prisoners are "effectively in control" of the facility, which has the highest rate of assaults on staff in Britain.
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
MARK FAIRHURST highlights the main issues facing officers in a long neglected service, and raised by front-line delegates at POA conference last week, including understaffing, violence, bullying and the ongoing denial of workers’ right to strike
