More than four out of 10 prisoners HMP Pentonville felt ‘unsafe’, half reported that they had been ‘bullied or victimized’ by staff and three had taken their own lives in the last 12 months. A devastating report from the prison inspector published today described the North London, jail’s wings as ‘dirty, noisy, and chaotic with a pervasive smell of cannabis and infestations of mice and cockroaches’. The ‘vast majority’ of prisoners spent 22 hours a day locked up and six out of 10 were forced to share cells suitable for one .
In his introduction, the chief inspector, Charlie Taylor described care for the most vulnerable prisoners, as ‘appalling and so far in 2025 three prisoners had killed themselves’. ‘Support for those who were at risk of self-harm or suicide was cursory at best and we found staff who were supposed to be looking after men on constant watch asleep, reading or entirely absent,’ the report said. Back in July, he issued an urgent notification to Shabana Mahmood, the then Secretary of State for Justice.
‘It is never an easy jail to run, with overcrowded cells, crumbling infrastructure and a fast-changing population that includes many men who are mentally ill, addicted to drugs and homeless, or who are involved with criminal gangs. At this inspection, however, we found a prison that had seriously deteriorated, with scores of poor in our healthy prison assessments for safety, purposeful activity and preparation for release, and not sufficiently good for respect. As a result of the very worrying findings, I issued an Urgent Notification to the Secretary of State.’
Charlie Taylor
Andrea Coomber KC (Hon.), chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said that it was ‘no secret that large London local prisons such as Pentonville and Wandsworth face major problems – but the details in this report are appalling and represent a new low for an overcrowded and under-resourced public service that stands on the brink of collapse’. ‘It is a sign of how serious the systemic issues are that these prisons continue to face these intolerable challenges and ‘comprehensive failures’. The government needs to drastically reduce the number of men in Pentonville, and provide significant investment to help leaders to run a decent and safe jail,’ she added.
Points to note:
– 44% of prisoners felt unsafe
– Drugs drove violence
– New arrivals received little support
– Poor relationships between staff and prisoners
– Lack of support for vulnerable men
– Most prisoners locked up 22 hours a day
– Release dates incorrectly calculated.— HMI Prisons (@HMIPrisonsnews) September 30, 2025
Drugs were widely available at Pentonville. More than four out of 10 prisoners said that drugs were easy to get (41%) and close to one in five (17%) said they had developed a drug problem while at the prison. According to random drug testing, more than a quarter prisoners (27%) tested positive
As a result of overcrowding, approximately a third of prisoners (34%) said they could shower every day. More tan seven out of 10 prisoners (71%) said that they usually spent less than two hours out of their cells each weekday and three-quarters less than two hours at weekends.
The first few days at Pentonville were described as ‘chaotic and frightening’. ‘New arrivals were locked in overcrowded cells, many of which were dirty, needed repair and were lacking items such as bedding, pillows, cutlery, furniture and, in one case, a mattress,’ the report said. Only 15% of prisoners said they had the chance to talk to a Listener (i.e., a prisoner trained by the Samaritans to provide confidential emotional support to fellow prisoners) or the Samaritans. ‘Despite 38% reporting feeling suicidal on arrival, they were locked up with no information on how to contact this support,’ it added.
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