New measures to crack down on drugs in prison, says minister

Mr Gauke was speaking hours after it emerged that an inmate at Oakwood Prison, near the Shropshire border, was unable to make a court appearance because he was ‘under the influence’ of drugs or alcohol.

It was also revealed this week that the number of drug finds at Stoke Heath Prison had more than trebled over the past five years.

Mr Gauke said drugs were a major problem in prisons, and a number of new schemes were being trialled to address the matter.

But he ruled out any possibility of Oakwood – which is run by security company G4S – of being taken back under government control as has been done with HMP Birmingham.

He said the problems at Oakwood were nowhere near as serious as they were at Birmingham.

He also said the problems identified at Birmingham were specific to that jail, and did not mean that prisons should not be run by private companies.

Mr Gauke, who was meeting business leaders at Wolverhampton University’s Telford campus, said new measures aimed at combatting drug use were being trialled at 10 prisons across the country. But he said neither Oakwood nor Stoke Heath had been identified as having a specific problem.

“We do have a challenge regarding drugs in our prison estate,” said Mr Gauke. He said the problem had been exacerbated in recent years by the arrival of ‘new psychoactive substances’ – previously known as ‘legal highs’ before they were prohibited in 2016.

“The new psychoactive substances have proved much easier to smuggle into prisons, and this is creating problems,” he said.

“You can get a single sheet of paper that’s been soaked in a drug, and that can supply a large number of persons.”

Mr Gauke said new measures being tested included new, more efficient scanners and new search teams specially trained in detecting drugs.

“We’re also looking at making it easier to test for drugs, and have the results analysed inside the prison rather than having to send them away, and being able to examine mobile phones in the prison rather than having to send them away.”

Decision

Mr Gauke said the Ministry of Justice’s decision to take control of HMP Birmingham, previously HMP Winson Green, from private operator G4S related to a number of problems specific to that jail.

“Oakwood is a much more successful prison than Birmingham has been,” he said.

“It’s important to stress that the steps we have taken with regard to Birmingham don’t indicate a failure within private prisons across the board.”

The government announced last week it would be taking control of Birmingham jail for six months after inspectors described it as “in a state of crisis”.

They found blood, vomit and rat droppings on the floor, sleeping staff, cockroaches and an overpowering smell of drugs during an unannounced inspection between 30 July and 9 August. One of the inspectors’ cars was also set alight during the visit.

The jail also saw the highest number of assaults any prison in England and Wales last year – a five-fold increase since 2012, the first full year that it was run by G4S.

Chief inspector of prisons Peter Clarke branded it the worst prison he had ever been to. Paul Newton, previously governor at Swaleside jail in Kent, was brought in to replace director Rob Kellett. The capacity of the jail, the scene of a £2m riot in 2016, is also to be cut by 300 to 900 prisoners.

Justice boss on familiar territory in county

Justice Secretary David Gauke was on familiar territory during his visit to Shropshire yesterday, saying he had relatives who live in the county.

“My brother-in-law and his family live in Shrewsbury, and we have stayed with them a few times,” he said.

“A couple of years ago we had a cottage in Much Wenlock, so we know Shropshire quite well,” he added.

Before entering politics, Mr Gauke studied at law school in Chester, and it was there that he met his wife Rachel who also became a lawyer.

While living in Chester he unsuccessfully stood to become a local councillor, but later moved to London.

He said it was important to recognise that different parts of the country had different needs, and that farming and hi-tech manufacturing industries were particularly relevant to Shropshire. “Shropshire has a big agricultural sector, and we need to make sure we can continue to trade agricultural produce across the European Union when we leave,” said Mr Gauke.

“We also need to make sure we can take advantage of our growing manufacturing sector.”

He said while Shropshire was a county with low unemployment, this meant it was all the more important to ensure that people had the right skills so that the economy could grow.

“It is an area of low unemployment, but that also means that occasionally there are shortages of people with the required skills,” he said.

“We need to ensure we have people fully trained up where we need them.”

Minister says he is ‘confident’ a trade deal will be struck with EU

Justice Secretary David Gauke said he was confident Britain would strike a trade deal with the EU, despite concerns that time was running out.

Mr Gauke was in Telford to talk to business leaders about the impact of Brexit on the local economy. He said he was confident that a deal broadly similar to the proposal drawn up by the cabinet at Chequers would be agreed with the European Union.

He said while it was right that the Government made plans for a ‘no-deal’ scenario, that would not be a desirable outcome and one he was keen to avoid.

Mr Gauke said the recurring theme from the business leaders he spoke to during his visit to Wolverhampton University’s Telford campus was that they wanted an end to the uncertainty which made it difficult for them to plan for the future.

Mr Gauke met members of Marches Local Enterprise Partnership, which represents business across Shropshire and Herefordshire. He said: “They want to see the uncertainty resolved. We need to get to a position which, while respecting the result of the referendum, means we can continue to trade with the EU as we have done in the past, but one that enables us to trade with the rest of the world too.”

The Chequers proposal was criticised by EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier, who said it undermined the principles of the European Single Market.

But Mr Gauke said negotiations were still continuing, and said he was confident that an agreement would eventually be reached.

The minister said that while no deal was better than a bad deal, it was something the Government was keen to avoid.

Telford MP Lucy Allan said she was pleased the minister had come to the town to speak to the business community.

She added: “It is clearly wrong to talk down a ‘no deal’ scenario. Leaving the EU on World Trade Organisation terms is a possible outcome. The country needs to be ready to move forward on those terms if that is the outcome of negotiations. Denigrating that possible outcome makes success more difficult.

“It was good to hear the minister being pragmatic as well as providing reassurance to our community. Business has had enough of the extreme voices in this debate – it is time to accept that whatever the outcome of negotiations with the EU, the country will move forward and make a success of our new relationship with Europe."