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Warning drones could be used to lift prisoners out of jails to escape

Experts likened a high-security jail to an airport because there were so many drones flying in drugs

Flora Thompson
Tuesday 14 January 2025 15:49 GMT
Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor accused the police and Government of giving up control of the airspace above HMP Manchester and HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire (Niall Carson/PA)
Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor accused the police and Government of giving up control of the airspace above HMP Manchester and HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire (Niall Carson/PA) (PA Wire)

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Drones could be used to airlift escaping prisoners, a union has warned.

Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor accused the police and Government of giving up control of the airspace above two high security jails as he called on them and the security services to “urgently confront” activity from criminal gangs behind the growing number of drug and weapons drops being made by drones.

The findings of the watchdog’s two inspection reports into conditions at HMP Manchester and HMP Long Lartin prompted a debate in the Commons, with shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick telling MPs explosives could be delivered to prisons by drone and the “potential for escapes or hostage-taking is an enormous concern”.

Meanwhile, Mark Fairhurst, national chairman of union the Prison Officers’ Association (POA), said drones were capable of lifting an inmate out of an exercise yard as he accused the Prison Service of ignoring years of warnings.

It was “only a matter of time before a firearm makes its way into a prison”, he added, as he called for technology to block drone deliveries while giving evidence to peers.

Mr Taylor said inspections in September and October raised serious concerns over safety and basic security, describing the jails as having “thriving” drug economies with nets and CCTV being allowed to fall into “disrepair”.

The scale of the problem at HMP Manchester, previously known as Strangeways, included inmates burning holes in windows to receive drone deliveries and prompted Mr Taylor to last year tell the Justice Secretary to put the prison into emergency measures.

And his report on Long Lartin told of drones carrying “large payloads of illicit items” into the category A Worcestershire prison.

Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor accused the police and Government of giving up control of the airspace above two high security jails as he called on them and the security services to “urgently confront” activity from criminal gangs behind the growing number of drug and weapons drops being made by drone (Peter Byrne/PA)
Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor accused the police and Government of giving up control of the airspace above two high security jails as he called on them and the security services to “urgently confront” activity from criminal gangs behind the growing number of drug and weapons drops being made by drone (Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Wire)

Speaking to the Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee on Tuesday, Mr Fairhurst said: “We know there are drones out there that have a capability to lift a 75 kilogram load. That’s somebody off the exercise yard.

“We want urgent action taken to rid the threat of drones.

“We’ve been telling our employer for at least the five last five years that drones are a major security risk and will destabilise our prisons and they need to invest in technology to block the drones from delivering to prison cell windows.

“We consistently get ignored, it falls on deaf ears. It seems to be: if it costs money, it won’t happen,” he added.

Referring to a “sky wall” installed around Guernsey prison, which diverts drones to its sender as it approaches the perimeter, he said: “We know that there’s technology out there to block drone signals.”

Mr Taylor said it was “highly alarming that the police and Prison Service have in effect ceded the airspace above two high-security prisons to organised crime gangs which are able to deliver contraband to jails holding extremely dangerous prisoners, including some who have been designated as high-risk category A.

“The safety of staff, prisoners and ultimately that of the public is seriously compromised by the failure to tackle what has become a threat to national security.”

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) promised improvements including a crackdown on drugs after Mr Taylor found there to be “catastrophic levels” present at the category B prison in Manchester which can hold more than 700 men, including a handful of the “most disruptive” and high-risk prisoners under close supervision.

“The number of weapons and other illicit items found in recent months was among the highest of all prisons holding adult men and the proportion of prisoners testing positive for drug use was very high at 39%,” his report said.

Holding almost 600 inmates, including those mainly serving life sentences and “some very dangerous men”, the number of drugs and phones coming into Long Lartin was a “serious concern”, according to a separate inspection.

More than 50% of prisoners told inspectors it was “easy” to get drugs and alcohol, which the watchdog branded an “astonishing rate” for a high-security jail, the findings said.

The latest warnings come after Mr Taylor likened another high-security jail, HMP Garth in Lancashire, to an “airport” because there were so many drones flying in drugs.

And a report from Independent Monitoring Boards (IMB) – made up of volunteers tasked by ministers with scrutinising conditions in custody – into “crumbling” jails in England and Wales said delays in fixing broken prison windows was making it easier for drones to be used to deliver drugs and weapons.

In December, MPs heard contraband was being taken into HMP Parc in South Wales in “children’s nappies”, while there were “industrial specification drone drops” from organised crime gangs.

Responding to an urgent question on the matter in the Commons, justice minister Sir Nicholas Dakin said drone sightings around prisons were a “matter of great concern and pose a major threat to prison security”.

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