Strangeways governor speaks out for first time after shocking report into prison

The under-fire governor of Strangeways jail has vowed to 'make the necessary improvements' after a government watchdog publicly criticised the prison.

Earlier this month a scathing report by the Chief Inspector of Prisons exposed the 'catastrophic' level of illicit drugs available inside the prison, formally HMP Manchester, known as Strangeways.

As police launched a new operation to halt the supply of drugs and organised crime behind bars, the prison's governor Robert Knight has defended the jail and insisted 'we will... make the necessary improvements'.

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Mr Knight, who has been governor at the high security category A prison for the last five years, told the Manchester Evening News he didn't want to comment on whether the supply of drugs was 'catastrophic' but he added: "I would say staff morale has been dented. Nobody wants to be told they are doing a bad job, especially a job they are doing in difficult circumstances."

He added: "We will pick ourselves up and make the necessary improvements. I'm confident of that."

Earlier this month, the Chief Inspector of Prisons publicly criticised the crumbling 156-year-old jail, which the Manchester City Council wishes to see demolished so it can re-develop the area.

Conditions inside the prison were exposed in one of the most shockingly brutal official exposes ever published by the watchdog. HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor used words like 'squalid' and 'filthy' to describe conditions in the rat-infested prison - and 'catastrophic' for the torrent of illicit drugs available inside.

Phrases such as 'fundamentally unsafe' and 'unstable' were also used to describe HMP Manchester. Mr Taylor labelled the prison 'amongst the most violent' in the UK. Organised crime gangs and the supply of drugs are 'clearly undermining every aspect of prison life', he added. The number of weapons and illicit items uncovered during the watchdog's visit last month was among the highest of all adult male prisons.

More than half the inmates at the high security category A jail - which can house more than 700 men - reported they felt unsafe. Staff morale was 'low', Mr Taylor wrote.

Many of the jail's windows were smashed and inmates were reduced to ripping foam from their mattresses to push into window frames to keep out the cold, said the report.

The situation was so bad the inspector published an 'urgent' improvement notice he had sent to Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood. Even more concerning was the watchdog's assertion that there had been 'little progress in addressing our previous concerns' from a previous inspection in 2021.

The prison's governor Mr Knight spoke publicly for the first time since the report, addressing the media outside the gates of HMP Manchester as police launched an operation to tackle criminality and the supply of drugs behind bars.

He described how he, like other prison staff, were searched by police with sniffer dogs, as were their vehicles, when they arrived for work on Wednesday morning as part of the operation, to augment existing checks on staff before they start work at Strangeways.

He admitted the supply of drugs inside the prison was a 'massive problem for us' together with 'staff corruption'. But he said the biggest source of drugs inside was 'drone ingress'.

The governor said he had held discussions with leaders from Manchester City Council and aknowledged their wish to redevelop the area. However, he said: "I don't think with the current policy there will be any appetite to close any prisons down like HMP Manchester."

Following publication of Mr Taylors's urgent improvement notice, the Ministry of Justice insisted work had already begun to address his concerns, including more training for staff and improve security. It will publish its full action plan within a month.

Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, Lord Timpson, admitted the state of the prison system was 'shocking', but stressed new Labour government had 'inherited' the mess from the previous Conservative regimes.