No holds barred: the prison where inmates party and take drugs - and 'retaliate' against management

The employee at the prison in Molyneux Avenue, Bovingdon, claims management is “absolutely disgraceful” after video footage emerged last Friday of inmates partying.

Timothy Murphy, 44, of Luton, is a security and dog handler and spoke about events that unfolded after the footage came to light.

According to Mr Murphy, a number of cells were targeted and searched by officers - with one search leading to a stand-off.

He said: “Officers didn’t want to be seen doing nothing, so it turned into a free-for-all.

“We’ve got a prisoner now who’s barricaded himself in his cell because they smashed up his stereo – they mistreated him and made a mess of his cell.

“They also ripped up the inmate’s pictures.

"He’s been in the prison for a long time so his belongings mean a lot to him.

“There’s no way of getting him out. He’s got a hell of a lot of food and drinks in his cell, so he’s healthy.

“He’s requested to speak to governors and managers but management aren’t interested.

"They’ve said he’ll come out when he’s ready.”

The Mount is a category C prison, which means inmates cannot be trusted in open conditions but are unlikely to escape, and inmates are allowed personal items such as photographs and food in their cells.

Footage from a video showed pills and mobile phones

The video was shot on a mobile phone - which are banned - and features several more mobiles and smartphones. Mr Murphy said the policy that forbids mobile phones had become lax.

He said: “I’ve been an officer for a long time at the prison so I’ve built up a lot of respect– but other officers just don’t care.

“I have been on a wing when officers have seen inmates on mobile phones and they’ve just turned a blind eye.

“For prisoners who are doing a long time, mobile phones are precious, so they’re very protective of them.”

Mr Murphy added that that the prison’s segregation wing had been full for months because bullying was rife.

As a result of the prison’s “absolutely disgraceful” management, Mr Murphy has handed in his notice.

He said: “The prison is so poorly managed and prisoners’ actions are in retaliation.

“The guy that barricaded himself in his cell – this should be looked at.”

A Prison Service spokesman said: “Staff at HMP The Mount conducted a search of a prisoner’s cell on Friday morning.

“No damage was caused and there was no wider disruption.

“All prisoners are banned from using mobile phones and those breaking the rules will face tough punishments, including having time added to their sentence.”