This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-45824020
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| HMP Whitemoor: Prison 'breaching UN torture protocol' | HMP Whitemoor: Prison 'breaching UN torture protocol' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A prison's use of solitary confinement is in breach of a UN torture protocol, a report has said. | A prison's use of solitary confinement is in breach of a UN torture protocol, a report has said. |
| HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire was found to lock inmates in a segregation unit for more than 23 hours a day, with "little meaningful human contact". | |
| Its Independent Monitoring Board said this broke the UN's Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture. | Its Independent Monitoring Board said this broke the UN's Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture. |
| A Prison Service spokeswoman said "segregation can be used as a last resort for limited periods of time". | |
| More than 400 men are housed in the three-wing maximum security prison, near March, including a number of the highest-risk inmates. | |
| The report found that in May the five longest-term residents in Whitemoor's segregation unit had been there for between 184 and 362 days and were "not always treated fairly or humanely". | The report found that in May the five longest-term residents in Whitemoor's segregation unit had been there for between 184 and 362 days and were "not always treated fairly or humanely". |
| "Residents had to choose between a daily shower or a phone call," it added. | "Residents had to choose between a daily shower or a phone call," it added. |
| 'Shocking and degrading' | 'Shocking and degrading' |
| A rise in the use of new psychoactive substances, such as Spice, following the smoking ban was also a concern, inspectors said. | A rise in the use of new psychoactive substances, such as Spice, following the smoking ban was also a concern, inspectors said. |
| The report found that two men in the segregation unit who had taken Spice "set themselves on fire", sustaining life-threatening injuries. | The report found that two men in the segregation unit who had taken Spice "set themselves on fire", sustaining life-threatening injuries. |
| "The most basic human decencies" were also being breached across the prison because it "routinely fails to provide clean clothing, bedding and cleaning materials", it said. | "The most basic human decencies" were also being breached across the prison because it "routinely fails to provide clean clothing, bedding and cleaning materials", it said. |
| Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: "The shocking and degrading treatment of prisoners in segregation at Whitemoor is totally unacceptable, but it has been going on for years. | Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: "The shocking and degrading treatment of prisoners in segregation at Whitemoor is totally unacceptable, but it has been going on for years. |
| "It is an utter disgrace, and those responsible ought to be ashamed of themselves." | "It is an utter disgrace, and those responsible ought to be ashamed of themselves." |
| The Prison Service spokeswoman said it was investing in safety features including airport-security style scanners, phone-blocking technology, enhanced perimeter searches and more drug detection dogs, which will help tackle the issue of Spice. | |
| She added: "When those in custody are putting themselves or others at risk, segregation can be used as a last resort for limited periods of time when no other form of intervention is suitable. | |
| "This is particularly important in prisons like Whitemoor which contain some of our most dangerous offenders." |