Drugs and violence persist at prison, report says

A prison in use since Victorian times has "many significant weaknesses" and is "deteriorating and overcrowded", inspectors have said.

A recent visit by HM Inspectorate of Prisons to HMP Winchester in Hampshire found "persistent" issues around violence and drugs remained at the site.

The review comes two years on from a critical report on the prison, which found it had "very high levels of violence" and drug problems, forcing it to be placed under "urgent notification".

The Ministry of Justice said the prison had been "operating under immense pressure" after the government "inherited a prison system at the peak of its crisis".

In its latest report on HMP Winchester, conducted in March, the inspectorate said it was "encouraged by the progress leaders had made to stabilise the prison".

"However, many of the weaknesses we described previously persisted," it added.

Introducing the report, HM chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor said the site's challenges were "well known".

Among them was a "deteriorating and overcrowded Victorian site, a transient population with complex needs, staff shortages and a history of instability across key functions".

But Taylor said the violence rate at Winchester "continues to be among the highest for comparable prisons".

He said this was a "persistent problem fuelled by the widespread availability of drugs, debt and bullying" as well as the "frustrations of daily life in an overcrowded, ageing jail".

Among other issues Taylor highlighted were living conditions - which he said needed "urgent attention" - alongside "too many" prisoners spending "long periods" locked in cells.

But he did suggest leadership at the site had "improved" since the inspectorate's last visit, and that mental health provisions had been strengthened.

Taylor concluded: "Substantial investment, however, is still required to bring the establishment up to an acceptable standard."

He added that the prison's leadership, alongside the inspectorate, must "build on recent progress with increasing urgency".

In a statement, the Ministry of Justice said: "We took immediate action to tackle this and we welcome inspectors recognising the strong leadership now in place at HMP Winchester.

"The prison is urgently tackling staff shortages as well as investing in infrastructure and building refurbishments."