Specialist officers called to Lewes prison to control six-hour riot at notorious jail once described as ‘worse than Syria’

The chairman of the Prison Officers Association blames 'poor management and severe shortage of staff' for the incident

Lewes prison in east Sussex (Rex)

Specialist officers were called in to control a riot at a notorious east Sussex jail after prisoners “went on the rampage” for six hours.

Cells and offices were damaged in the disturbance at Saturday at Lewes prison, said Prison Officers Association chairman Mike Rolfe.

Mr Rolfe blamed “poor management and severe shortage of staff” for the incident at the prison, which began at 10.30am and continued until 4:30pm.

He told the BBC: “There were only four staff on that wing and all four retreated to safety after threats of violence and the prisoners went on the rampage.”

Lewes prison was at the centre of a scandal two years ago when a serving officer alleged that severe staff shortages and a drug-smuggling problem meant it “resembled a warzone”.

Kim Lennon, who was later dismissed from her position, told The Argus in August 2014 she feared a prisoner or prison officer would be seriously injured due to dangerously low staffing levels.

The Ministry of Justice confirmed that a national response unit had to be brought in to control the prisoners during the incident.

A Prison Service spokesperson told The Independent: “Specially trained prison staff have resolved an incident involving a small number of prisoners on one wing at HMP Lewes.

“We are absolutely clear that prisoners who behave in this way will be punished and could spend significantly longer behind bars.“

Earlier this year, The Argus reported an MP had asked for a meeting with the prisons minister to raise concerns about conditions at Lewes Prison.

The newspaper alleged that a 19-year-old was found dead in a suspected suicide and that there had been 10 seizures of a drug known as Spice – a type of synthetic cannabis – from prisoners.

Syrian Refugee and chef Roudi Chiko was given a year’s sentence at Lewes prison for using a false Canadian passport to travel to the UK in 2012.

He told The Guardian he had seen “many terrible things” in Syria but his time in the prison brought him to tears for the first time.

“There was a lot of fighting and violence in the prison,” he told the newspaper.

“I saw many terrible things in Syria, but the first time I cried was when I was in Lewes prison. It was horrible to see all the violence there."