Prison chiefs face sack over inmate inspections swaps

Five managers in the prison service are facing disciplinary action over a "deplorable" scam in which difficult inmates were transferred ahead of inspections.

The swaps — which Justice Secretary Jack Straw today called "disgraceful" — involved moving inmates between Wandsworth and Pentonville prisons to try to improve the jails' ratings.

One Wandsworth inmate took an overdose of prescription drugs and needed hospital treatment, and another cut himself and tied a ligature around his neck. Both will be able to sue for compensation.

A third, Christopher Wardally, 25, who was taken to Pentonville after a court appearance and returned in a van with the other prisoners, killed himself a week after the inspection.

His death is being investigated, and although he is not thought to have been part of the swaps, an internal inquiry found that the inspections may have led to delays in returning him to his cell.

Today, as the Chief Inspector of Prisons, Dame Anne Owers, published a scathing report about the practice, the Ministry of Justice confirmed that five senior staff at the prisons were facing disciplinary action, which could range from a warning to dismissal.

It is thought the five include the former Wandsworth governor Ian Mulholland, now head of custody in Wales, and former Pentonville governor Nick Leader, who is in charge of a prison in Cambridgeshire. The other three are "governor grade" staff.

Dame Anne said the actions of those responsible for the swaps were "deplorable" and accused them of a "dereliction of their duty of care". She said Wandsworth had been warned, after a suicide, about moving prisoners: "Every prison knows prisoners are particularly vulnerable to suicide in the days immediately after they move to a new prison."

Five prisoners were moved from Wandsworth and six from Pentonville during inspections in May and June.

Inspectors went back after being tipped off about the transfers. Dame Anne's report tells how the two highly distressed Wandsworth inmates were moved despite self-harming. One was dragged from a cell "bloody, handcuffed and dressed only in underwear".

Mr Wardally hanged himself on 12 June. He was serving a four-year sentence for armed robbery.

Mr Straw will publish a parliamentary statement on the transfers today. He said there would be a wider inquiry into the practice of moving inmates, which has also occurred at Brixton. "The transfer of prisoners in an attempt to undermine the inspection process was disgraceful," he said.