Fears are intensifying over the way drones are used to fly drugs into prisons (Image: Guernsey Press / SWNS.com)
Crime gangs could use drones to fly explosives into prisons because security is so lax, ministers have been warned.
Prisons watchdog Charlie Taylor warned the growing trend of drones dropping drugs and weapons to dangerous prisoners being held in high-security jails is a "threat to national security”.
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Criminals are brazenly burning holes in windows to receive packages from organised crime gangs, it has emerged.
And Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor declared jails have “thriving” drug economies, with nets and CCTV being allowed to fall into "disrepair”.
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A view along wing A of Wandsworth prison. This wing has the suicide netting between each floor. (Image: Corbis via Getty Images)
Mr Taylor accused the police and Government of giving up control of the airspace above HMP Manchester and HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire, as he called on them and the security services to "urgently confront" activity from criminal gangs behind the supply.
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But shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said: “The Chief Inspector of Prisons warned that the police and prison service have, and I quote ‘ceded the airspace above two-high security prisons to organised crime gangs’.
“The result is that organised crime gangs are able to deliver drugs, phones and weapons, like zombie knives, to inmates with impunity due to the absence of basic security measures like functional CCTV, protective netting and window repairs.
“And if organised crime gangs can deliver phones and drugs to inmates cells, they could be delivering serious weapons and explosives. The Chief Inspector said, the “potential for escapes or hostage taking is an enormous concern”.
“This could not be more serious: the situation has become, in the words of Chief Inspector of Prisons, a threat to national security.
“Now I do not pretend that these problems are entirely new, but they have deteriorated and we now need urgent action.
“So can the Minister provide the timeframes for fixing the most basic security measures?”
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) promised improvements including a crackdown on drugs after Mr Taylor found there to be "catastrophic levels" present at the category B prison in Manchester which can hold more than 700 men, including a handful of the "most disruptive" and high-risk prisoners under close supervision.
"The number of weapons and other illicit items found in recent months was among the highest of all prisons holding adult men and the proportion of prisoners testing positive for drug use was very high at 39%," the report said.
Meanwhile, the findings on Long Lartin told of drones carrying "large payloads of illicit items" into the category A Worcestershire prison.
Holding almost 600 inmates, including those mainly serving life sentences and "some very dangerous men", the number of drugs and phones coming into the jail was a "serious concern".
More than 50% of prisoners told inspectors it was "easy" to get drugs and alcohol, which the watchdog branded an "astonishing rate" for a high-security jail, according to the report.
Former prison governor Ian Acheson added: “This is an extraordinary intervention. If drones can bring in drugs they can also bring in weapons & explosives. To hear some of our high security prisons holding much of our national security risk have effectively 'ceded' airspace to them is chilling.”
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But Justice Minister Sir Nicholas Dakin said prison windows, netting and grills are being improved to prevent drones delivering drugs and weapons to prisoners.
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Responding to an urgent question, he said: "Drone sightings around prisons in England and Wales are a matter of great concern and pose a major threat to prison security. This Government inherited a prison system in crisis, with violence and drug use on the rise.
"We are working hard to deter, detect and disrupt the use of drones. It is not possible to talk in detail of the tactics that we use to disrupt drones, given the obvious security implications. What I can say is His Majesty's Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS) invest in targeted counter measures such as improvements to windows, netting and grills, to stop drones successfully delivering cargo, such as drugs and weapons.
"And in January 2024 restricted fly zones were introduced around all closed prisons and young offender institutions supporting police and prison staff to disrupt illegal drone use."