Prison chief sacks head of 'unsafe' private jail

The head of the prison service today took the unprecedented step of removing the director of a privatised prison, fearing that conditions had deteriorated so badly that they were unsafe.

The director-general, Martin Narey, was concerned that Premier Custodial Services would "lose effective control" of Ashfield prison and young offenders' institution – prison service jargon for allowing a riot to take place.

Conditions for both staff and prisoners were unsafe at the jail, at Pucklechurch near Bristol, which holds 300 child inmates and 100 juveniles, Mr Narey said.

Emergency steps have been taken to bring in a prison service employee – the current governor of Portland prison in Dorset – to run Ashfield.

Mr Narey said: "I have recently made three unannounced visits to Ashfield after repeated concerns were raised to me by prison service monitors and senior staff. What I found has concerned me greatly, and I have decided to act swiftly to bring in a new governor.

"I found that standards of care and control of prisoners were not as high as I would expect them to be. I considered that the prison was unsafe for both staff and the young people detained there and that urgent action was required."

Mr Narey went on: "Kevin Lockyer has been installed as governor of Ashfield with immediate effect. He will be supported by two more prison service members of staff.

"My aim is that the prison should be made safe and constructive and that in due course we are able to hand management back to a director appointed by Premier."

Ashfield was opened in November 1999 and is managed by Premier Custodial Services under 25-year contact with the prison service.

The Criminal Justice Act 1991 gives the director-general power to appoint a governor if the director is thought to have "lost or is likely to lose effective control of the prison". This is the first time the emergency measures have been implemented.

The move is a huge setback for privatised prisons in Britain. In February a government report recommended expanding the private sector's role, adding that a series of "super-prisons" should be built because they offered huge savings.

Asked if today's events gave ammunition to anti-privatisation campaigners, a spokesman for Premier would only say: "Yes." Financial penalties were likely to be suffered by the company as a result of Mr Narey's intervention, he added.