Prison staff have been caught up in the violence that took place in a variety of locations within HMP Belmarsh last year (Picture: REX/Getty)
A catalogue of almost 300 assaults at a prison dubbed ‘Britain’s toughest’ shows how gangs fought running battles.
The violence erupted at HMP Belmarsh between individuals and groups of inmates, including clashes involving improvised weapons.
Sex offenders were also targeted as mob rule took hold, with the targets being identified from media coverage in at least one case.
The violence has been revealed in a list of 282 assaults released by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) under the Freedom of Information Act.
One of the logs obtained by Metro.co.uk documents an attack by seven prisoners on another inmate in a running conflict.
The entry reads: ‘A fight between seven prisoners, six prisoners assaulted one. Allegedly this is gang-related conflict, and a follow on from the fight that occurred on Monday in reception.’
The outnumbered prisoner sustained facial injuries and was seen by a nurse who gave him painkillers following the assault on September 13.
Staff have been assaulted by inmates at HMP Belmarsh with some of the attacks involving improvised weapons (Picture: Susannah Ireland/REX/Shutterstock)
He refused to have his photograph taken. All the prisoners were discharged to court after being seen by nurses, according to the log.
A general alarm was raised during another attack when three prisoners made their way to the showers and fought with another two inmates.
One of the attackers was found with a weapon as he was caught by staff trying to dispose of it after running away from the scene.
Three days later, another fight broke out during dinner service shortly after 5pm. Three prisoners attacked a rival with weapons on a top landing.
Another inmate is said to have then attempted to fight back on behalf of the person being assaulted.
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The log says the incident was ‘due to rival gang conflict’ and states: ‘Staff separated the prisoners, and two weapons were recovered.’
In total there are 14 incidents on the list that prison staff identified as being gang-related.
The heavily redacted disclosure shows the level of violence at a Category A prison which has been dubbed ‘Britain’s toughest jail’ in media reports and TV documentaries.
Current and past inmates include Soham killer Ian Huntley, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, great train robber Ronnie Biggs and Henry Long, Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, the three killers of PC Andrew Harper.
Attacks have also taking place on prison officers and members of staff, including a ‘jugging’ of an orderly which was reported by Metro.co.uk earlier this week. The worker was burnt by a mix of boiling water, oil and Vaseline thrown by an inmate who claimed the worker had been ‘disrespectful’ when collecting and giving out food boxes.
Sex offenders were targeted on three separate occasions, including after the assailants had recognised them from media coverage of their cases.
In one of the incidents, the victim told an officer that he had been assaulted by four other prisoners in his cell.
Two of them said they ‘recognised him’ as a sex offender, he said.
A catalogue of violent incidents at Belmarsh has been released by the Ministry of Justice (Picture: Daniel Leal/AFP)
A log for the attack on January 26 last year reads: ‘Mr [Redacted] claims that after the assault they made him clean up his cell and change his clothes.’
Andrew Neilson, director of campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform, which campaigns for less crime and safer communities, said: ‘The rising number of assaults and self-harm incidents in prison is a major concern, and the catalogue of reports from Belmarsh reveals how distressing this can be for people living and working behind bars.’
Releasing the data, the MoJ said the figures had ‘not yet undergone scrutiny’ or been published as part of official safety statistics.
The Prison Service maintains that violent prisoners can face tough punishments, including a maximum of two years behind bars.
Steps to reduce weapons, drugs and mobile phones include phone-blocking technology, additional X-ray body scanners and the provision of PAVA, a synthetic pepper spray.
A spokesperson said: ‘We do not tolerate violence in our prisons and assaults have fallen by 20 per cent since 2019.
‘We have also invested £100m into tough security measures to clamp down on the contraband that fuels violence behind bars and have equipped officers with PAVA spray and body-worn cameras to boost protection.’
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