Labour sends letter to Gove asking for immediate action following arrests of three employees at a Medway STC
Following the news that four men have been arrested following a BBC Panorama investigation into abuse at a young offenders centre in Kent, Labour has written to Michael Gove to ask again that he take immediate action to put all G4S-run prisons, STCs and detention centres into special measures and prevent G4S from being considered for bidding for other Government contracts.
Jo Stevens MP, Labour Shadow Minister for Prisons and Probation, said:
“The safety of vulnerable children in custody is the primary concern of the Labour Party, so it is welcome that Kent Police have been quick to act in investigating these allegations.
“The Government and G4S still have many questions to answer. Labour has called for the Government to take immediate action to put all G4S-run prisons, STCs and detention centres into special measures, and send in management teams to work alongside existing staff. Michael Gove should review his contracts with G4S to make sure the company is not considered for bidding during that process.
“More widely, this shocking case should be seen in the context of systemic failure across secure training centres and the whole prison estate. Ministers need to wake up to the scale of the problem and urgently get a grip of the crisis in our prisons.”
Full text of Jo Stevens’ letter to Michael Gove
Dear Michael,
You will know of our interest in the disturbing allegations made on Monday night by the BBC’s Panorama investigation into the G4S-run Secure Training Centre (“STC”) in Medway.
I welcome both the tone of your response to Monday’s Urgent Question and the measures you have already taken but you will appreciate the seriousness of this issue and the need for greater clarity.
The allegations include recordings that show guards slapping a teenager several times in the head; pressing heavily on the necks of young people; using restraint techniques unnecessarily - including squeezing a teenager’s windpipe so he had problems breathing; using foul language to frighten and intimidate and boasting of mistreating young people, including using a fork to stab one on the leg and making another cry uncontrollably; trying to conceal their behaviour by ensuring they were beneath CCTV cameras or in areas not covered by them; and seemingly mis-reporting incidents in order to avoid fines.
You will be aware that Kent Police has now arrested four men on suspicion of child neglect and that four of the staff suspended on 30 December have had their employment with G4S terminated.
As you know, in September 2015 G4S was stripped of its contract for managing a separate STC, Rainsbrook in Northamptonshire, following an inspection which revealed that amongst other findings:
- The number of assaults had nearly doubled since the last inspection;
- Fifteen young people have required medical attention for a minor injury following an assault and one required hospital treatment for a more serious injury; and
- Assaults on staff were higher than the previous inspection, at an average of nine each month.
These incidents raise serious questions about whether G4S are a fit and proper organisation to run facilities on the youth estate.
Can you clarify when your department first had notice of these allegations and from which party; and whether your department was already investigating behaviour at Medway STC or other G4S facilities?
Can you confirm that the Serious Fraud Office is still investigating G4S over fraud in the prisoners tagging contract and will you make a statement to the House on the progress of that investigation?
In the Urgent Question on prison safety tabled by my colleague Andy Slaughter MP on 11 January we suggested that given the concerns raised over many years and in many areas about G4S, the Ministry of Justice should urgently review all its contracts with that company to see whether it is fit and proper to manage major public contracts.
Labour has made clear that in the meantime it is our belief that G4S should not be considered for bidding for other Government contracts.
Can you clarify whether that is also your position?
You will be aware that the current situation at Medway must be seen in the wider context of systemic failures across STCs and in the wider prison estate.
You will be aware of the findings of the Harris Report and Lord Harris’ concerns, expressed again on 12 January to the Justice Committee, about the MoJ and NOM’s inability to learn lessons from repeated failures.
The safety of children in custody is paramount and I would like further clarification on what your department is doing to spot potential abuses in future without relying on the need for investigative journalism.
On Friday 8 January it was reported that G4S had written to the BBC to urge them not to broadcast the documentary. Did you have advance notice that G4S were planning to do this and, if so, was your approval sought for this action?
In addition, we called on you to take immediate action to put all G4S-run prisons, STCs and detention centres into special measures to assess the safety and competence of their operation.
It is our understanding that you have the power under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to intervene in contracted-out STCs.
With that in mind, we urge you to use those powers to put in management teams alongside existing staff, particularly those with experience of working with vulnerable children.
It is our belief that these measures are necessary.
Yours sincerely,
Jo Stevens MP, Shadow Justice Minister
(via labourpress)
