Last inspectedJuly 2025Full inspection, unannounced
Source: HM Inspectorate of Prisons report published 29 September 2025; visiting details from GOV.UK · last checked 29 October 2026
Latest inspection
At its last full inspection (July 2025; report published September 2025), inspectors found outcomes for prisoners were poor for purposeful activity; not sufficiently good for safety; reasonably good for respect and preparation for release. It held 630 people at the time, against an operational capacity of 648. An independent review of progress was published in June 2026.
Safety: not sufficiently good · Respect: reasonably good · Purposeful activity: poor · Preparation for release: reasonably good Read our story
Safety: reasonably good · Respect: reasonably good · Purposeful activity: not sufficiently good · Rehabilitation and release planning: reasonably good Read our story
A jury at Leeds Crown Court convicted the three men of killing the 33-year-old in his cell in November last year. The judge told them none will ever leave prison.
A follow-up inspection found the high-security prison now holds men convicted of sexual offences in separate units, but progress on most earlier concerns has been limited.
Inspectors found the West Yorkshire high-security prison under strain, with failing infrastructure, rising violence and poor access to activity, although health care had improved significantly.
The inspectorate's report on HMP Wakefield, published in February 2023, found a settled high-security prison with good key work, but half the men locked up during the working day and serious health care shortfalls.
Prison News staff
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