A cockroach-enacted Jail Who was illegally detained Prisoners His long -term release date has been put in special measures by a guards.
HMP Pentonville in North London has been served by an immediate notification, by the Chief Inspector of Jails Charlie Taylor Several people discovered after an inspection Prisoners They are kept in jail after being freed because the staff “failed to calculate the sentences correctly”.
Watchdog said 130 prisoners were shown in jail data – 20 percent of the eligible for release – was illegally held after their release date in the last six months.
Backkog in the calculation of the sentence also meant that 10 prisoners were released early in error between July 2024 and June 2025.
In a letter Justice secretaryThe Chief Inspector said that the first night of new prisoners in North London jail was “chaotic and even frightening”.
Men were kept in dirty Cells The missing beds, furniture, telephone and pillows, Watchdog said, while most prisoners were closed in their cells for more than 22 hours.
The report also stated that 60% of prisoners were sharing cells designed for one person, many living areas were dirty and widely infection of mice and cockroaches.
Inspectors took emergency action, when they were “shocking poor” to take care of weak prisoners under constant supervision, a jail officer found sleeping, reading two books and the other was “completely absent”.
In taking care of these prisoners “unacceptable practices”, it is considered to be a serious risk of self-loss, there was a special concern for inspectors given to three suicides in jail in 2025.
Mr. Taylor said: “Pentonville is a congested, internal city, Victorian Jail with a record of poor performance over many years.
“Many of its employees have become disillusioned with their potential for improvement or their ability to influence change. Yet many of its shocking failures are firm in the control of leaders.
“The Governor would require significant support and investment from HM Jail and Probation Services to strengthen his senior leadership team, focus again on the basics, and put this unsuccessful gel in effective inspection and assurance systems to turn around.”
A survey by prisoners also revealed that 44% told the inspectors that they feel insecure at the time of inspection, which the Watchdog said that was the highest figure recorded during his tenure as the main inspector.
Pentonville is the 10th jail to be issued with an immediate notification since November 2022, after Exeter, Kukham Wood Young Offerndar Institution, Woodhill, Bedford, Wandesworth, Rochester, Manchester and Winchester Jails.
The emergency measure was introduced as a way to raise immediate concerns after an inspection in 2017, which requires a response and action plan by the justice secretary within 28 days.
Somewhere else, the Inspector’s report also found that when the release was planned, 23% of the prisoners were homeless on the day they were released, and very few people employed the release.
Reaction to immediate notification, Gel reform trust Chief Executive Pia Sinha said: “Inmates should have been held after illegal issuance, or others are releasing early in error, further effective sentences weaken the plan and eradicate public belief.
“This immediate notification must be a rally cry for immediate action – fix the failed infrastructure, improve staff training, and treat prisoners with dignity.”
Andrew Nielsen, director of the campaign in the Howard League for the Penal Reform, said the inspection conclusions were “derogatory” and represented “new lower” for a crowded public service on the verge of collapse.
He said: “Whereas Government A serious condition of cases in jails inherited, it is more than one year to bring changes.
“As report cards go, such a strict account of laxity in Pentonville believes that there is a hold of the status of ministers.”
Jail Minister Lord James Timpson said he visited the jail on Thursday, where the team is already working to address the concerns raised by the Chief Inspector.
An action plan will also be published in the coming weeks to support the efforts.
Lord Timpson said: “This government will end the chaos inherited in our jails.
“We are constructing 14,000 new prison places and sentencing so that our jails are reduced again, cut crime, and protect the victims.”
