Order restored after major disturbance at HMP Birmingham

Specialist prison officers have regained control of HMP Birmingham after a major disturbance involving hundreds of inmates that lasted for much of the day on 16 December.

The trouble at the Winson Green jail, which is run by the private security company G4S, has been described as the most serious disturbance at a British prison for many years.

How it unfolded

The disturbance began after a prison officer was reportedly "rushed" by inmates. According to G4S, staff withdrew from two of the prison's four wings, sealing them off as they left, but the trouble then spread to the remaining two.

Specialist riot squads from the national prison service were sent in because of the scale of the disturbance, which grew to involve more than 600 inmates. By late in the day, officials said they were back in control of the prison.

Some prisoners on the wing that houses sex offenders were reported to have feared for their safety as the disorder spread. Hundreds of inmates are now being moved to other prisons around the country, because of damage to the wings affected.

Warnings beforehand

The disturbance follows months of warnings about conditions at the prison. In June, inspectors said violence at the jail was increasing because of the large amounts of illegal drugs getting in. This autumn, concerns were raised about drugs that can make prisoners violent being smuggled inside.

Jerry Petherick of G4S has said that contraband was being brought in by visitors, by drones and by being thrown over the walls, and that "a very small minority of staff are corrupt". Assaults on staff had also been rising, with an average of three a week, some of them serious.

Low staffing levels, poor healthcare and food, and prisoners being locked in their cells for long periods have all been cited as sources of growing frustration among inmates.

Not the first

The trouble in Birmingham is the third serious incident at a prison in England in less than two months, following disturbances at Bedford and Lewes prisons. It is likely to add to pressure on the government over safety in jails across the country.

A Victorian prison

HMP Birmingham, formerly known as Winson Green Prison, is a Category B men's prison. It was designed by Daniel Rowlinson Hill and completed in 1849.

In 2011, it became the first prison built, owned and operated by the state in Britain to be handed over to the private sector, when G4S took over the day-to-day running of the jail. Shortly afterwards, the company had to replace every key and lock in the prison, at a cost of £500,000, after its master keys went missing.

Questions will now be asked about how the disturbance was allowed to happen and how long it will take to repair the damaged wings. An investigation is expected into the causes of the trouble and the response to it.