Jail staff 'supplying drugs'

Prison staff were yesterday accused of supplying inmates with hard drugs in a bleak survey of life inside jails in England and Wales.

Of the 600 prisoners questioned in 44 jails, 12 per cent claimed they got drugs from staff. Almost half of all prisoners (47 per cent) said they had frequent access to hard drugs - 25 per cent using heroin and 12 per cent taking cocaine. Inmate-dealers supplied 64 per cent of the drugs, with prison staff accounting for another 12 per cent. The study - commissioned by the prisoners' charity, New Bridge - also unearthed a number of other problems, including violence and sexual harassment. More than half of those questioned said jail had made them more aggressive.