Prison chief condemns inmate swaps

Managers at Wandsworth and Pentonville Prisons in London agreed to swap "difficult" inmates during official inspections.

Dame Anne Owers, the chief inspector of prisons, said they aimed to "subvert" the work of her staff.

She said the actions of those responsible for the swaps were "deplorable", and accused them of a "dereliction of their duty of care" to the inmates.

On learning of the move, with little or no notice, one Wandsworth inmate took an overdose of prescription drugs and needed hospital treatment, but was taken to Pentonville anyway after he was cleared by doctors. Another cut himself and tied a ligature around his neck, and was dragged from his cell to the prison reception where he arrived "bloody, handcuffed and dressed only in underwear". He still had blood on his face when he arrived at Pentonville.

A third inmate at the prison, Christopher Wardally, was not part of the same transfer, but was taken to Pentonville after a court appearance, and killed himself shortly after he was returned. Mr Wardally was regarded as having "acute mental health needs" and his death is being investigated by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman and HM Coroner.

An inquiry by the National Offender Management Service (Noms), also published on Tuesday, found the inspections "may" have prompted the decision to delay returning him to his cell.

Five senior managers at the two prisons face disciplinary action, including the former governors of both prisons - but sources said none had been suspended from their jobs. Former Wandsworth governor Ian Mulholland is now head of custody in Wales, and former Pentonville governor Nick Leader is in charge of Whitemoor Prison in Cambridgeshire and both remain in post.

Paddy Scriven, general secretary of the Prison Governors Association, blamed the "target culture" for placing "excessive pressure" on governors at a time of budget cuts.

The transfers were condemned by the director-general of the National Offender Management Service, Phil Wheatley, but he rejected suggestions that the practice was widespread within the Prison Service. "It is obviously folly," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.