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FOUR staff members at HMP Long Lartin were taken to hospital today after being injured in a prisoners’ riot.
One was taken to hospital with a broken jaw and another three were taken for treatment for other injuries, a spokesman for the Prison Officers Association (POA) told the Star.
A fifth member of staff sustained cuts to the face but chose to forego hospital treatment to remain on duty, he added.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice confirmed that the five staff members were injured when eight prisoners made a violent bid to take over a wing at the high-security facility in Worcestershire that holds more than 500 men.
He added that “specially trained prison staff” were deployed to “deal with an ongoing incident at HMP Long Lartin.”
“We do not tolerate violence in our prisons, and are clear that those responsible will be referred to the police and could spend longer behind bars,” the spokesman also said.
Labour shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon said: “Very concerning reports from HMP Long Lartin, which holds some of the most dangerous prisoners in the country, less than 12 months since the last riot there.
“It is unacceptable that prison staff face such extreme violence at work.
“The government must immediately get a grip on the chaos in our prisons.”
Plaid Cymru MP Liz Saville Roberts tweeted that the riot was taking place 30 miles from where the Conservative Party is holding their annual conference in Birmingham.
She urged Prisons Minister Rory Stewart to “go and see for yourself how cuts bring chaos to criminal justice.”
In January, prison inspectors reported that HMP Long Lartin was “stable and well-controlled,” but since the previous inspection in 2014 it saw a number of extremely serious incidents, including two murders.
The prison’s governor Clare Pearson had to receive hospital treatment and spend at least a month off work after she was hit in the face by a prisoner in an unprovoked attack last year.
In 2016, staff were attacked with pool balls during a disturbance involving 81 prisoners.
