AN MP is calling on the justice secretary to begin major prison reforms after a dramatic escape from a south Cumbrian prison.

Copeland MP Jamie Reed is urging justice secretary Liz Truss to take action as she embarked on urgent talks with the Prison Officers Association yesterday.

The meeting took place just days after dangerous inmate, Dean Walker, escaped from HMP Haverigg and fled to Manchester, where he was recaptured.

Ms Truss agreed to the meeting after prison bosses warned that the number of assaults and deaths in custody have reached record levels.

National chairman of the POA, Mike Rolf, said: "It's a bloodbath in prisons at this minute in time. Staff are absolutely on their knees, lost all morale, all motivation.

"Prisoners are scared. They want prison officers to be in charge, and the prison officers feel incapable to do that.

"Low staffing numbers, people leaving the job in droves; it's a real bad mix and it's dangerous for everyone, staff and prisoners alike."

Over the past few months, reports from HMP Haverigg have told of escalating violence and staff shortages, leading to calls for more investment to be made to keep the area safe.

The category C prison holds 644 inmates and employs 103 frontline prison officers.

Residents in the area insist that the prison is under-resourced but the Ministry of Justice maintains that there are no issues with staffing.

The Howard League for Penal Reform says this level of staffing is in line with other prisons in the UK but believes understaffing and overcrowding are causing cracks in the system.

Copeland MP Jamie Reed described the prison system as being in "crisis" and hopes Ms Truss's meeting with the POA will signal the start of reform.

He said: “The situation in which government has placed prison staff is intolerable, and it is right that government must meet with them to discuss immediate steps forward to tackle the crisis in our prisons.

“The sharp rise in assaults in our prisons, including assaults on staff, should never have been allowed to take place, nor should prison escapes.

“It is important that the government recognises that on its watch, prisons have become dangerously overcrowded and understaffed, with rising levels of violence and drug abuse.

"The Haverigg community provides a national service, as such we require the right rate of investment, support and care to continue to do this and sustain support for this work. It's also true that prison is about rehabilitation as well as punishment. This is a gravely serious issue.

“I hope that the secretary of state will meet with staff working at Haverigg prison, that she will listen to their thoughts and concerns, and that she will act now to tackle the crisis in our prisons.”

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