Cover-up claims over scale of trouble at country’s biggest jail

Trouble broke out on a wing at G4S-run HMP Oakwood, near Wolverhampton, at 5pm on Sunday and was not resolved until 2am on Monday, the Ministry of Justice and G4S said.

However, conflicting accounts have emerged over what actually happened at the 1,600-place jail, while reports suggest further violent incidents have occurred at the prison in past months.

HMP Oakwood, a category C prison, was the scene of a number of rooftop protests last year and was strongly criticised by inspectors during a surprise visit.

Sadiq Khan MP, the shadow justice secretary, said: “More and more information is coming to light that suggests the Ministry of Justice and G4S are trying to cover up the true scale of the disturbances.

“The Tory-led Government needs to come clean and admit what really happened, and acknowledge that there are some very serious underlying problems at Oakwood.”

Yesterday in a joint statement, the MoJ and G4S said the incident, which took place in one wing of the jail, involved up to 20 inmates, who threatened officers and damaged cells and property. No prison staff were injured, although one prisoner suffered minor injuries.

They denied reports that prison staff had been taken hostage.

Michael Spurr, chief executive officer of the National Offender Management Service, which is responsible for commissioning and delivering prison services, told BBC Radio 4’s World at One: “We have not in any sense attempted to cover up or minimise what happened.”

Controversy around HMP Oakwood comes as the majority of Wrexham council’s planning committee approved outline planning permission for a £250m super-prison which will have a 2,000-inmate capacity.