Prison officer has ‘throat cut’ by inmate at HMP Nottingham

Staff member requires 17 stitches after razor attack at prison in government improvement project

HMP Nottingham was declared an "unsafe" facility last year (PA)

An inmate has cut a prison officer's throat with a razor at a "fundamentally unsafe" jail.

The male officer required 17 stitches after being attacked at HMP Nottingham - which is part of a government improvement project - but did not need surgery and has since been discharged.

A Ministry of Justice (MoJ) spokesperson said the man was injured at 10am on Sunday.

The officer’s attacker has since been arrested.

“We cannot give any further details as there will be a police investigation,” an MOJ spokesperson said in a statement.

It comes after the prisons inspector issued an “urgent notification” about HMP Nottingham, declaring it “fundamentally unsafe”.

“Difficult day, colleague badly assaulted,” Phil Novis, the prison’s governor, said on Twitter.

“Not sure it could be legislated but will review. Thoughts with him, family and the team dealing with the fall out.

“Rightly emotive for everyone [including] me but all that matters is our colleague and friend at this time.”

The attack came amid a crisis in prisons across England and Wales, seeing rising levels of violence and self-harm as authorities try to tackle drug smuggling.

The prisons minister has vowed to resign if conditions at 10 prisons do not improve - including Nottingham.

The jail is a category B male prison meant for inmates "for whom the very highest conditions of security are not necessary but for whom escape must be made very difficult,” according to the MoJ.

The facility holds 1,060 male prisoners and is notorious for its violent conditions.

In May 2018 the UK prisons watchdog said a string of prisoner suicides at HMP Nottingham could be linked to its “appalling” conditions.

In a highly critical report the chief inspector of prisons, Peter Clarke, found that levels of violence at the prison were “very high”, with 103 assaults on staff recorded in the six months before the December 2017 inspection.

The report also noted eight self-inflicted deaths at the jail since a previous inspection in 2016.

Additional reporting by agencies