HMP Bedford placed under Urgent Notification over violence, squalor and self-harm

HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor invoked the Urgent Notification process at HMP Bedford in November 2023 after inspectors found very high violence, poor care for prisoners at risk of self-harm and squalid living conditions.

An Urgent Notification is a formal letter in which the Chief Inspector of Prisons tells the Justice Secretary about urgent and significant concerns at a prison. The Justice Secretary must respond publicly within 28 days, setting out how the concerns will be addressed.

A protocol agreed between the Chief Inspector of Prisons and the Ministry of Justice in October 2019 governs the process. Under it, the letter becomes public and the Justice Secretary commits to a public reply.

Charlie Taylor sent his letter on 15 November 2023 to Alex Chalk KC, then Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. It followed an unannounced inspection of the prison in late October and early November 2023. Bedford was a reception prison, which takes men directly from the courts.

Charlie Taylor noted that Bedford had also faced an Urgent Notification in 2018, with many similar concerns raised by his predecessor. Inspectors had reported more favourably in 2022. He wrote that this showed progress was possible despite the prison’s many challenges.

Violence, self-harm and force

The letter set out the reasons for the decision. Levels of violence were very high. The rate of violence against staff was the highest of any adult male prison in the country.

Bedford also had the third highest rate of recorded self-harm among adult male prisons. Charlie Taylor wrote that an inadequate mental health service and weak case management undermined the care of prisoners at risk of self-harm.

Staff still used force very often. Inspectors saw too many examples of excessive force, as well as unprofessional behaviour linked to these incidents.

New prisoners went into dirty cells covered in graffiti and received only a very limited induction. The letter said this was of particular concern in a reception prison.

The segregation unit was squalid, staff were forced to use sandbags and wear wellington boots due to overflowing sewage pipes after heavy rain.

Urgent Notification letter, HM Inspectorate of Prisons

Rats, mould and sewage

Three-quarters of prisoners lived in overcrowded conditions. Most spent more than 22 hours a day locked in their cells. The wings were dirty, and inspectors found a widespread infestation of rats and cockroaches. Some cells had broken windows and black mould on the walls.

The segregation unit, where prisoners are held apart from the main population, was squalid. According to the letter, “staff were forced to use sandbags and wear wellington boots due to overflowing sewage pipes after heavy rain”.

Prisoners told inspectors of their real frustration at being unable to get anything done. They struggled to reach their property, apply for a job or add family phone numbers to their accounts. Relationships between staff and prisoners were transactional. Key work, the regular one-to-one contact between an officer and a prisoner, was rare. The applications and complaints systems were in disarray.

Security, fairness and activity

Charlie Taylor highlighted serious gaps in security. In July 2022 a prisoner who should have been under constant supervision escaped. The letter said the escape exposed substantial weaknesses. The local security strategy remained incomplete after a previous manager had deleted it, and mandatory drug testing was not taking place.

Managers, staff and prisoners all reported witnessing incidents of racism. Oversight of fair treatment and inclusion had declined.

A lack of operational staff and teachers meant that education, training and work faced regular cancellation. Many prisoners had no job or course. Even among those with an education place, only about half attended their classes.

The governor had acted on problems and poor staff performance in the 11 months since her appointment. However, the letter said the scale of leadership change, including nine new senior leaders, had delayed improvement.

A long-running pattern

Charlie Taylor wrote that this was the fourth time inspectors had visited Bedford since 2016. He said the prison had consistently failed to provide good outcomes for prisoners. In 2016 inspectors had judged it not sufficiently good in all four of the tests they use to assess prisons.

He acknowledged that many staff and leaders were doing their best. But he argued that some of the problems reflected systemic issues across reception prisons. “There will need to be a coordinated and sustained effort from national as well as local leaders to effect meaningful change at the prison,” he wrote.

Inspectors have reported on HMP Bedford several times since. The full inspection report followed in February 2024, an independent review of progress in October 2024 and a further full inspection report in October 2026.