Related Articles
Rob Luxford was questioned by a parliament justice committee a month on from an ECHO investigation which found staff held a vote of no confidence in him
HMP Liverpool’s governor avoided the question when asked if he had the confidence of his staff amid a worrying rise in attacks on prison staff. Rob Luxford, who has been governor since 2021, appeared before a parliament justice committee this afternoon, Tuesday, February 25 to give evidence about the issues surrounding drug use and supply in the UK’s prison network.
But towards the end of the evidence, committee chair Andy Slaughter – a Labour MP, asked Mr Luxford about ongoing issues at the Walton prison between the governor and staff. An ECHO investigation published this month found officers had claimed the prison was in “crisis” and becoming increasingly unsafe for both them and the inmates.
The ECHO heard of a litany of incidents including a female officer having her head split open after being assaulted with a tap broken off a sink. The Prison Officers’ Association also exclusively told the ECHO that a vote of no confidence regarding Mr Luxford had been held, with the union’s chair calling the governor’s position “untenable”.
Prison staff told the ECHO an emergency meeting was called to discuss the issues in the prison to “discuss staff safety, working to rule and ensuring that staff work safely despite pressures from management”. However, Mr Luxford and his senior team handed a letter to staff members telling them their actions were unlawful. A prison source however told the ECHO “just to be clear, this was a meeting, not a demonstration”.
Mr Luxford today said: “(It’s) a challenging position. As a prison our key objective is to improve our regime – time out of cell and trying to get prisoners into activity and education. That’s been a prime drive. Part of that has been impacted by high sickness levels, so consistently high sickness levels which have stopped us delivering what we need to do.
“All in all that is something we keep pushing forward with. The impact over the past couple of months is an increase in some violence. The increase in prisoner on prisoner assaults during January was also matched with an increase on prisoner on staff assaults…we have rerolled the prison, part of that is an expectation (that) the change in the prison would see an increase in violence, but the staff believe that had become too high risk and we went through a position where the staff withdrew to a place of safety.
“It was an incorrect use of staff’s ability to raise those concerns. They hadn’t followed the process of raising that through health and safety, myself, management and the unions. It ended in a position where for a few days we had an impact on the regime. A position where it took a lot of communication with the staff and unions to get people back to work.
“We have returned almost immediately to a full regime and I’m hoping we have moved past that point. For the last two weeks we have been running a normal regime prioritising getting prisoners into work and activity.” He added: “No assault on a member of staff is ever tolerable, but we managed well and we have managed to get through that. (They were) very individual incidents, nothing linked, and as such it allowed us to return as soon as possible to the full point.”
When asked by Mr Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick, if he believed he had the confidence of his staff now, Mr Luxford said: “I have full confidence that we prioritise the correct level of regime with safety being at the priority of everything we do and I think we have that balance right. Against all of our comparators we are working well and performing well.”
When approached by the ECHO earlier this month regarding the ongoing issues at HMP Liverpool, a Prison Service spokesperson said: “We take the welfare of our staff incredibly seriously. Those found guilty of causing harm to our hardworking frontline officers should expect to face the full force of the law. We meet regularly with the POA to discuss any issues or concerns and will continue to do so.”
An experienced prison officer source at the prison previously told the ECHO: “Security and safety must be the foundation of any prison, yet corners are constantly being cut. Tasks are being piled onto staff already struggling under immense pressure…”I used to take pride in my work but now I genuinely fear for my safety every time I step onto the landings. Wings are overcrowded, with as few as four staff members assigned to supervise them.
“Aggressive prisoners go unchallenged because inexperienced staff lack the training or confidence to intervene. This leaves more inexperienced staff isolated and at greater risk of becoming targets themselves.” A female officer added: “The staff morale is the lowest it has ever been…those who are employed here are finding it hard to believe how quick it’s changed in such a short time and are worried about themselves and the safety of their families.”
Source link
