Forest Bank prison bosses deny allegations staff discouraged from reporting attacks 'because it looks bad'

Bosses at under-fire Forest Bank prison in Salford have denied allegations staff are discouraged from reporting attacks 'because it looks bad'.

They issued a robust defence of reporting of incidents inside the troubled, privately-operated jail after two sources at the prison made a series of claims to the Manchester Evening News.

The sources said staff were told to not to report less serious assaults and to report more serious assaults as minor incidents. Prison bosses insist reporting of incidents is independently scrutinised and say all violent attacks are 'investigated carefully'.

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The allegations were made as government ministers mull over whether to remove the facilities management giant currently running the jail on behalf of the Ministry of Justice, Sodexo, when the current £1bn contract comes to an end on January 19. A decision is expected in the summer.

One guard at the prison, who the M.E.N. has agreed not to name, said: "For years, they have told us not to report what they call 'minor assaults'. So if we get barged or we fall to the ground or get hurt in restraining someone, they tell us to not report it or make fuss about it... as it goes down in their staff assault figures.

"However, what they class as a minor assault can be anything from being barged by a prisoner to literally being punch in the face."

The guard alleged they were told not to report an assault they suffered at the hands of a prisoner 'as it looks bad against the prison'. The staff member also alleged that following an attack at the hands of an inmate during an attempt to escape custody, they were told to 'get on with it'.

A second source at the jail said staff were 'pressured' into not reporting that a victim of an assault received a black eye and instead report it as 'reddening to the face' because, they alleged, it was 'then only reported as a minor incident'.

The same source told the M.E.N: "If a prisoner reports they have slipped in the shower, even if it's clearly obvious that they have been assaulted, this will not be investigated as it adds to the figures."

The M.E.N. put to allegations to Sodexo, the facilities giant which runs the prison on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

The allegations, we told them, included that: for years staff have been told not to report assaults which are regarded as less serious; one staff member alleged that they were 'told not to report [an assault on them] to the police as it looks bad against the prison'; a staff member assaulted during an attempt to escape custody from a hospital was 'told to get on with it'; staff felt 'pressured' into reporting a black eye as 'reddening to the face' as the latter is regarded as a minor incident; and that if a prisoner reports an injury is due to them slipping in the shower this will not be investigated as an assault even if it is clear it is an assault because it 'adds to the figures'.

An HMP Forest Bank spokesperson said "Any violent incident is investigated carefully to ensure that perpetrators are identified and dealt with and to ensure the safety of both prisoners and staff. We scrutinise all incidents carefully to ensure accurate reporting. We have a good relationship with police and refer matters where appropriate. There is no barrier to this. Where any member of staff has operational concerns, we encourage them to raise these internally."

The Ministry of Justice declined to comment.

The jail has been beset by problems. In April last year, an M.E.N. investigation uncovered allegations of widespread drug use and inmates who 'run the wings', prompting an MP and Salford's mayor to write to the government to demand an 'urgent' review.

Our revelations included a call from Salford and Eccles MP Rebecca Long-Bailey for the Ministry of Justice to cancel the billion pound contract it has with Sodexo to run the jail.

Our investigation, based on allegations from a whistle-blower, an ex-prisoner and his father, and the family of a grandfather who died in his cell, exposed what Salford and Eccles MP Rebecca Long-Bailey branded a 'culture of lawlessness' at the jail.

The M.E.N. revealed that:

• Drugs are rife, smuggled in via 'legal letters' and inmates are 'off their t**s a lot of the time'

• Inmates brew their own hooch

• Violence is commonplace and inmates 'run the wings'

• Staff feel 'unsafe' and a lone guard can be 'left to guard 100-plus inmates'

• Staff have to buy 'their own uniform because of cost-cutting'

• A desperate father paid off a drug dealer on his addict son's wing because 'staff didn't protect him'

Sodexo's contract to run the prison ends on January 19, 2025. Back in 1998, it was awarded a deal worth £1,006,771,964 to design, build and run the prison built on the site of the former Agecroft power station under a private finance initiative to house a maximum 1,064 inmates. The deal was to last 25 years, before being extended.

Sodexo, founded and based in France, runs six prisons in England and Scotland, and in 2022 recorded revenues of 21.1 billion euros, including 'underlying operating profit' of more than a billion euros, up 83 per cent.