Thursday 20 September 2018 3:30 pm

Prison chief asked to leave as violence towards officers reaches record high

The chief executive of the Prison and Probation Service (PPS) has been asked to step down amid an escalating crisis that has seen violence in jails reach record highs.

Michael Spurr will leave at the end of March next year after 35 years in the service and nine years as chief executive, as the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) reviews the top management structure of the PPS.

Members of the Prison Officers Association union staged a walk-out last Friday over what they described as unprecedented levels of violence in jails. The industrial action was called off later in the day after "meaningful engagement" between the MoJ and the union.

Prisoner-on-prisoner violence and assaults on staff were at an all time high in the 12 months to March 2018, according to MoJ data.

Attacks by prisoners on other inmates were up by 16 per cent on the previous year and violence towards prison staff increased by 26 per cent.

MoJ permanent secretary Richard Heaton said: "Michael’s leadership has been exemplary.

"But we now need to look ahead, building on Michael’s work and developing a strategy for the next decade. I have therefore decided that April 2019 is the right time to ask a new chief executive to take on this important role.”