Prison officers promise minister a rough ride

Prison officers say they will heckle a Home Office minister when she addresses their annual conference this morning, after a bitter clash over pay and conditions.

Beverley Hughes, the Prisons minister, faces "severe criticism" from the Prison Officers' Association, which represents 30,000 staff in Britain's jails.

The association issued a statement last night warning in advance of the two-day gathering in Portsmouth that Ms Hughes would be "heckled at POA conference".

The POA is furious with the Home Office over what it sees as a continued and unlawful denial of its trade union right to take strike action. It also claims that the Government has failed prison staff over pay.

But Ms Hughes hit back last night by issuing her own statement saying that the union was "misrepresenting" the views of its members.

She said she had been "disheartened by the tone, rhetoric and language" of the POA magazine, Gatelodge.

Ms Hughes said: "Of course, unions have a fundamental right to promote and protect the interests of those they represent. But through talking to many dedicated, committed staff across the country, I know that the unconstructive tone of this publication only serves to misrepresent the image and the views of most staff."

The Home Office was dismayed by the POA's negative reaction to a pay award to prison officers of 6 per cent over 15 months. The union believed the pay rise was many years overdue and should have been paid immediately to put officers' pay in line with that of similar public services.