If you’re a murderer, a terrorist or a rapist this is the perfect place for you. HMP Frankland. You’ll be banged up with some of the most sadistic criminals in Britain. Or walk the corridors with a triple killers. You might even come face to face with a man who has murdered children. Inside Monster Mansion aka HMP Frankland: Evil Behind Bars, Channel 5 2022
In the beautiful countryside of County Durham lies a high-security prison: HMP Frankland. Built in 1983 Frankland has been expanded three times, and now its sprawling wings house 840 prisoners. Nobody has ever escaped from Frankland. ibid.
Today 1,723 IPP prisoners are still behind bars. ibid.
A brand new prison: Pentonville opened in 1842. The Secret History of our Streets III: Caledonian Road, BBC 2012
The Pope closed down a lot of the factories that were making potatoes and turned them into prisons for children. Father Ted s2e7: Rock-a-Hula Ted, pop star on TV, Channel 4 1996
Strangeways: one of the largest high-security prisons in the country. For nearly 150 years this notorious building has imprisoned some of our toughest prisoners. Inside … s1e4: Strangeways Prison, Channel 5 2017
The battleground for the biggest prison riot in British history. ibid.
Female prisoners were held at Strangeways until 1963. ibid.
More and more prisoners had been crammed into Strangeways. ibid.
Inmates in 20 prisons protested in solidarity. ibid.
Strangeways would find itself in the grip of a deadly new drug … Drones were ferrying in synthetic drugs. ibid.
Making Harold Shipman Britain’s most prolific serial killer … Four years later he committed suicide in his cell. ibid.
Wormwood Scrubs: one of Britain’s most famous prisons. From Pete Docherty to Keith Richards, it’s locked up the country’s ultimate rock star rebels. And it’s been home to some of the country’s most dangerous inmates. Over its 140 year history, Wormwood Scrubs has gone from the best prison in the country to one of its most notoriously violent. Inside … Wormwood Scrubs s2e2, Channel 5 2018
Two decades later, Wormwood Scrubs welcomed one inmate who was feared by all: Charles Bronson, Britain’s most dangerous prisoner. ibid.
Pentonville, Strangeways, Wandsworth: these huge prisoners were built to strike fear into the minds of the prisoners. And inside these prisons the Victorians made sure life was as punishing as possible for the inmates. When they weren’t kept in complete isolation, they were forced to do gruelling repetitive labour in total silence. ibid.
Wormwood Scrubs: Four wings now house almost 1,400 inmates. And its huge entrance gate has become an iconic site. ibid.
The Cat-o-nine tails: prisoners have described it as the worst pain they have ever endured … Flogging was abolished. ibid.
George Blake: Britain’s greatest ever traitor … For the past decade Blake had been feeding top secret information to the Soviets. He had betrayed the names of hundreds of British spies, resulting in many being imprisoned and executed. ibid.
‘You can smell the jail. And it’s nothing like you’re ever smelled before.’ Britain’s Notorious Prisons s1e1: Strangeways, former inmate, ITV 2023
For more than 150 years, Strangeways Prison in Manchester has housed some of the UK’s most dangerous convicts. ibid.
‘It was a Screw’s nick. The bullies ruled the roost.’ ibid. former inmate
And for the most brutal riot in the UK prison history. ibid.
‘A violent filthy anything-goes routine.’ ibid. former inmate
Michael Howard’s speech to the Tory Party conference in 1993 signalled a challenge to Lord Woolf’s Strangeways Report. ibid.
From 1993 onwards there was an exponential growth of the prison population. ibid.
The iconic towers of Wormwood Scrubs have been famous throughout the decades for their starring role in feature films. From The Italian Job to the Richard Burton espionage classic, The Spy Who Came In From the Cold. Britain’s Notorious Prisons s1e2: Wormwood Scrubs *****
The prison is also renowned for its real-life spy drama when British Soviet double agent George Blake was sensationally sprung from the Scrubs. In what became one of the most improbable escapes in prison history. ibid.
Every criminal in London has gone into the Scrubs. All of the notorious gangsters in the Scrubs. The Krays were in the Scrubs. It’s a notorious jail. ibid. witness
Scrubs was just ag ag. ibid. Marvin Herbert
Wormwood Scrubs is a category B prison housing close to 1,300 inmates on five wings capacity. It has served the London courts to the present. But its Victorian conditions have prevailed for decades. ibid.
A sea of shit parcels. A dirty dirty place. ibid. witness
The rats would look at me and I’d look at them. ibid. lady worker
1990s: Prisoners have complained of bullying and systematic beatings and general ill treatment. As a result 25 prison officers have been suspended and are now facing prosecution. ibid.
One of Britain’s most notorious spies into its gates: George Blake … Blake was sent down for 42 years. The longest non-Life sentence on record. ibid.
After the Blake escape in ’66, a formal inquiry was launched headed by Lord Mountbatten. He concluded that the level of security was too low at the prison. MPs also complained that the escape was easily accomplished. The Inquiry led to a tightening of security at the Scrubs and UK prisons as a whole and pressure mounted to prevent further escapes and serious incidents. This coincided with some officers adopting a zero tolerance for potential troublemakers. ‘They had a brutal reputation.’ Some officers really did take the law into their own hands.’ ibid.
SHUT DOWN THE SCRUBS. ibid. The Express front page Wednesday June 16 1999
The Scrubs had became known as a squalid and violent prison. But this would be exacerbated by an epidemic of drug abuse and criminality. ibid.
For Anthony jail really was an occupational hazard. ibid.
‘The prison system runs on drugs.’ ibid. Anthony
Use of the synthetic drug Spice was approaching epidemic levels in UK prisons in the 2010s. ibid.
One of the most serious challenges facing UK jails is how to deal with prisoners suffering from mental health issues. ibid.
A prison spokesperson said, Recent independent inspections have found significant improvements at Wormwood Scrubs. ibid. caption
1,241 prison sentences had been served by the Suffragettes. Suffragettes with Lucy Worsley, BBC 2018
I’m Ann Widdecombe. And I’m in Norway. I’ve come to one the most unusual prisons in the world. With a very relaxed approach to relationships … Halden prison: It’s better than the outside world. The World’s Most Luxurious Prison, Channel 5 2023
It all sounds very dubious to me. But does hardened prison actually work? And what is prison for if not punishment? ibid.
More maximum comfort than maximum security. And their reoffending rates are the lowest in the world. ibid.
There are sixty drug dealers here. ibid.
Charlie Bronson is Britain’s most notorious long-serving prisoner. From his maximum security prison cell he has been granted video calls with his son. Bonson: Fit to be Free? Channel 4 2023
48 years in custody. 17 convictions. 11 hostage takings. 9 rooftop protests. 7 failed parole attempts. ibid.
I’m 68 years old. And all I wanna do is get out there and enjoy my fucking life what’s left of it. ibid.
‘Who’s going to want to release Charles Bronson?’ ibid.
Solicitor Dean Kingham has spent 5 years working on Bronson’s case for public parole. Bronson: Fit to be Free II
Bronson has now served 18 years more than the recommended sentence given for holding prison teacher Phil Danielson hostage. ibid.