The UK’s Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, has called for urgent action to tackle drones delivering drugs and guns to high security prisons.
Drones delivering weapons and drugs to two of the UK’s highest security prisons have become a threat to national security, according to the British prisons watchdog.
The UK’s Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, said drones were regularly being used to smuggle guns, drugs and phones into HMP Manchester and HMP Long Lartin.
“It is highly alarming that the police and prison service have in effect ceded the airspace above two high-security prisons to organised crime gangs”, Taylor said in a report released on Tuesday.
“[The gangs] are able to deliver contraband to jails holding extremely dangerous prisoners including some who have been designated as high-risk category”, he added.
“The safety of staff, prisoners and ultimately that of the public is seriously compromised by the failure to tackle what has become a threat to national security.”
Thriving illicit economies selling drugs, mobile phones and weapons were uncovered during probes carried out in September and October last year. Taylor warned that the increasingly large payloads amassed by inmates created a risk of serious disruption and potential escape.
Both prisons have also experienced an increase in violence and self-harm, in part driven by the presence of drugs and the resulting debts facing some prisoners. Other basic security measures such as protective netting and CCTV have also fallen into disrepair, according to damning reports into conditions at the high security jails.
The situation at HMP Manchester — labelled one of “most violent prisons in the country” — was considered so alarming that Taylor issued an urgent notification for improvement to the government in October.
Inmates at the prison burned holes in supposedly secure windows to receive their regular drone deliveries, inspectors found. Various other concerns relating to prisoner well-being have also been raised, including the high number of serious assaults against prisoners and staff, as well as an ongoing chronic rodent infestation.
At HMP Manchester, 39% of prisoners tested positive in mandatory drug tests, while at HMP Long Lartin, half of the inmates said it was easy to access drugs and alcohol, according to the watchdog.
Overcrowding in UK prisons remains a significant concern, with the prison population in England and Wales nearing 97,700 inmates in 2024.
Since taking office, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government has sought to tackle overcrowding through measures such as releasing hundreds of prisoners early.
