Inside Time

Credit: Andy Aitchison The Prison Service and Ministry of Justice must bring in a Prison Service Order and Prison Service Instruction to cover the decency agenda, which was brought in after the Strangeways Riot of 1990 and Lord Woolf's report the following year. All prisoners must be addressed by either their first name or courtesy title in all verbal and written communications at all times, regardless of their background. This must be adhered to by all prison staff.

Credit: Andy Aitchison / altered image I have been reading this paper for many years, but I hardly ever see a mention of my prison. We are currently getting inspectors coming round the prison, but we never get to speak to them. I'm currently in Seg on a three-officer unlock. Down here they are painting the unit walls orange and pink, and the same on the yard. What does this achieve? Nothing, it just makes the place look new.

Vi and Ray Donovan, whose son Christopher was killed in an unprovoked assault, have become campaigners for Restorative Justice/Credit: Vi and Roy Donovan Twelve months ago, the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies produced a report that identified ethnic disparity in criminal justice outcomes for young adults. Their Policy and Research Manager, Liat Tuv, has now published the results of her investigation into the reasons for such inequalities, in 'Behind the Decline' .

Credit: Image generated by AI/ Gemini I would like to inform readers about the recent event we had here on Friday 26 June to celebrate Pride Month, organised in a relatively short time and open to all prisoners and staff. The event was planned, prepared, organised and hosted by Proud at the Bay, formerly LGBTQIA+, orderly J, and his dedicated team of reps, members and volunteers.

Credit: Image generated by AI/ Gemini Supplier kickback, failure to adapt, or just plain refusal? In the past few weeks the UK has experienced an unprecedented heatwave with amber and red heat alerts, and yet our prisons continue to fail to make any reasonable adjustments. For those trying to purchase a fan, we can only order the Bullingdon 6-inch fan for £12, despite catalogues offering 9-inch or 12-inch fans. And they are never in stock.

Credit: Image generated by AI/ Microsoft Copilot I am a Listener at HMP Bure, and I've been asked to write to you about a recent event we were involved in. On Bank Holiday Monday, the hottest day of the year so far, 150 men at Bure were gathered in the gym with one shared goal: to perform one deadlift for every man in the national prison estate, signifying the support offered to all inmates by the Listener and Samaritan services. That's 88,000 deadlifts between them.

Credit: Image generated by AI/ Gemini I wanted to write a short piece to you about my love of poetry. I have just had a series created on Launchpad here at HMP Bullingdon for my poetry, called Poems by Lewis. Six have been uploaded so far, in text with a voice recording. Done by myself with Megan, who is the digital manager here. The voice recordings are for those who have difficulty reading, so it's a great way for all to be able to hear and listen to, as well as read, my work.

Credit: Andy Aitchison A prison nurse who was jailed over a drug smuggling operation has been struck off. A Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) hearing was told the woman had been convicted for her role in smuggling cannabis, spice, ketamine, phones and SIM cards into HMP Preston and jailed for 20 months in March 2025.

HMP Millsike. Credit: Mitie The Ministry of Justice has defended its handling of prison capacity after it emerged that a prison which opened last year still has enough empty cells to hold more than 300 additional prisoners. Since Prime Minister Andy Burnham asked the MoJ to find alternative ways to provide additional spaces in jail, amid a political row over plans to release prisoners early under the Sentencing Act 'early progression' model, a spotlight has been turned on empty cells in prisons.

Credit: Image generated by AI/ Microsoft Copilot A man convicted of killing his wife cannot be freed from prison, after a High Court judge overturned the Parole Board's decision to release him. The 66-year-old was jailed for life in 2003 after being convicted of murdering his estranged wife who disappeared the year before. He maintains his innocence and has never disclosed what he did with her body.