News
HMP Whitemoor improves on safety but daily regime remains poor, inspectors find
The Cambridgeshire high-security prison improved in three of four areas, but staff shortages left too many men locked up during the working day.
Latest
News
Mitie sets up review board after monitors raise concerns at HMP Millsike
The operator of HMP Millsike has formed an independent board to scrutinise its prison and immigration work, after the jail’s monitoring board wrote to ministers and MPs about serious failings.
News
Sentencing Act 2026 becomes law with earlier releases due in the autumn
Most prisoners on fixed-term sentences will leave custody after serving a third of their term under the new law, which received Royal Assent on 22 January.
News
Police arrest 86 people at Wormwood Scrubs vigil for hunger striker
The Metropolitan Police said protesters entered prison grounds during a vigil for a Palestine Action prisoner on hunger strike at HMP Wormwood Scrubs.
News
News in brief: January 2026
18 shorter prison and justice stories from January 2026, gathered in one place.
News
HMP The Mount launches railway training scheme for prisoners
A stretch of track inside the Hertfordshire prison is training men for rail jobs, and organisers say every man who has passed the course has received a job offer for release.
News
Three prisoners reportedly taken to hospital after disorder at HMP Deerbolt
A specialist Prison Service team in riot gear entered the County Durham jail on 12 January, and local papers report that three prisoners needed hospital treatment.
News
For Women Scotland takes Scottish Government to court over trans prisoner guidance
The campaign group wants guidance on placing trans women in prison overturned, while ministers will argue that a blanket ban on placing them in women’s jails would breach their human rights.
News
High Court rules PAVA spray lawful for use in young offender institutions
The Howard League for Penal Reform has lost its challenge to the decision to let prison officers use synthetic pepper spray on children in young offender institutions.
News
Five more female prison staff jailed over relationships with prisoners
Courts have jailed five women who worked at English prisons for misconduct involving male prisoners, in separate cases that led to sentences totalling more than 11 years.