Drone-flying drug gangs have seized control of prison airspace in a move that threatens national security, a watchdog has warned.
Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons, said the service had “in effect ceded the airspace” to two high-security category A jails, allowing organised crime gangs to deliver drugs, phones and weapons to inmates who included organised crime bosses and terrorists.
He said HMP Long Lartin, in Worcestershire, and HMP Manchester had thriving illicit economies of drugs, mobile phones and weapons because basic security measures such as protective netting and CCTV had been allowed to fall into disrepair.
At Manchester, almost four in 10 (39 per cent) of prisoners had tested positive in mandatory drug tests. Half of inmates at Long Lartin, one of Britain’s top security jails, told inspectors it was easy to get drugs and alcohol. Some 27.2 per cent had tested positive for drugs.
Long Lartin has housed some of Britain’s most notorious prisoners, including hate preachers Abu Qatada and Abu Hamza. Among those currently being there are Jordan McSweeney, the murderer of law graduate Zara Aleena, and serial killer Steve Wright, jailed for life for the murder of five women in Ipswich in 2016.
A police photo of a drone that was transporting a bag containing drugs in the direction of HMP Pentonville in London and was subsequently seized by officers – Metropolitan Police/PA
Mr Taylor said violence and self-harm at both jails had increased, in part driven by drugs and the accompanying debt prisoners found themselves in.
There had been six self-inflicted deaths at Manchester since 2021, with a seventh taking place a few weeks after the inspectors’ visit.
At Long Lartin, violence had increased by about 50 per cent since the last inspection in 2022. It was higher than at other category A jails, with more than 200 assaults on staff or prisoners in the last year. Forty per cent of prisoners said they felt unsafe.
“It is 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,” he said.
“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 prison service, the police and other security services must urgently confront organised gang activity and reduce the supply of drugs and other illicit items which so clearly undermine every aspect of prison life.”
Charlie Taylor said violence and self harm had increased inside the prisons in part due to the rise of drug use and associated debt – Andrew Crowley
The scale of the problem at HMP Manchester, previously known as Strangeways, included inmates burning holes in windows to receive drone deliveries which prompted Mr Taylor to last year tell the Justice Secretary to put the prison into emergency measures.
The latest warning comes after Mr Taylor likened high-security jail HMP Garth in Lancashire to an “airport” because there were so many drones flying in drugs.
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 were 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 being organised by organised crime gangs”.