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Governors 'have lost control' of jail after attacks on officers
The Guardian
|May 03, 2025
Governors have been accused of losing control of a Staffordshire prison after a union claimed that an officer was stabbed in the head and two female colleagues were punched in the face during serious disturbances on Tuesday.
The Prison Officers' Association (POA) is demanding a clearout of hidden makeshift weapons from HMP Swinfen Hall near Lichfield, Staffordshire, after a third outbreak of violence over recent weeks.
The union said all three prison officers were hospitalised on Tuesday, while prisoners attempted to take a fourth officer as a hostage.
Swinfen Hall, which holds about 600 men aged 18-28 serving between four years and life, was placed under lockdown on Tuesday and officers wearing riot gear were sent into G wing to break up a violent incident.
Emergency services reportedly attended the same prison on 28 March after an inmate was stabbed. On 21 March, another prisoner was taken to hospital after receiving trauma care for serious injuries.
Mark Fairhurst, the national chair of the POA, said he had spoken to union reps and officers at the prison.
This story is from the May 03, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
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