Head of Prison Service admits shock and horror at 'endemic racism' in jails

The director general of the Prison Service has confessed to his "shock and horror" over a catalogue of racial abuse and prejudice in jails.

Phil Wheatley spoke yesterday of his shame at a damning report from the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), which found the service guilty of unlawful discrimination in 17 cases. It judged prisons to be failing ethnic minorities in almost every area, including the treatment of inmates and staff and the general atmosphere in jails.

The CRE said it was worried by the rapidly growing ethnic minority prison population, with the number of black men behind bars rising by 50 per cent in three years. Non-whites now outnumber whites in at least two London prisons: Brixton and Feltham young offenders' institution.

The CRE investigated racism in three jails - Brixton, Feltham and Parc, in Bridgend, south Wales - but concluded it was endemic in the prison system. Investigators discovered racist graffiti was routine in the jails: the message "preserve wildlife, pickle a nigger" was written in staff lavatories at Brixton. They said of letters from prisoners at Parc, which often carried the initials KKK (Ku Klux Klan) and RVS (Rhondda Valley Skins): "It would be hard to find more routinely racist material."

By contrast, "Black Power" posters, including pictures of Malcolm X, were removed by officers, and inmates were denied access to Asian television stations. Meals provided to inmates did not meet their dietary requirements - a Muslim at Feltham was offered pork - while the religious needs of Muslims at Brixton and Feltham were ignored.

The investigators found that ethnic minority staff had to endure taunting and intimidation. An Asian prison pharmacist at Brixton had a note reading "you loud-mouthed Paki go home" pushed under his door. Black prisoners were also more likely to be tested for drugs, while ethnic minority inmates received more punishments than their white counterparts.

The report followed an investigation into the circumstances of the murder of Zahid Mubarek, battered to death by his racist cellmate at Feltham three years ago. Asked for his reaction, Mr Wheatley said: "There were some shameful things in there that as a prison service we should look at with horror. We should work hard to ensure that doesn't happen."

He announced that he had agreed a five-year plan with the CRE to eradicate the culture of racism within the service.

The CRE stopped short of issuing its ultimate sanction of a non-discrimination notice against the Prison Service, but said it was prepared to do so if the service failed to deliver improvements.

Trevor Phillips, the CRE chairman, said: "What's most shocking about this report is that, despite numerous wake-up calls, Prison Service managers have persistently failed to tackle racism in their institutions and that very often they have also failed to implement their own policies on racial discrimination, abuse and harassment."

Juliet Lyon, the director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: "This is a damning indictment of racism at the core of the Prison Service. We have to ask whether this action plan is strong enough to succeed where other attempts have failed."

Harry Fletcher, the assistant general secretary of the probation union Napo, called for an independent public inquiry into institutional racism in the jails. "This report is long overdue. It is extraordinary that it's taken over three years to complete," he said.