HM Prison Wandsworth

HM Prison Wandsworth from the air

The prison was built in 1851, when it was known as Surrey House of Correction.[3] It was designed according to the humane separate system principle: a number of corridors radiate from a central control point with each prisoner having toilet facilities. The toilets were subsequently removed to increase prison capacity and the prisoners had to engage in the process of "slopping out", until 1996.[4]

On 29 July 1879, Catherine Webster was executed for the murder and dismemberment of her mistress, Mrs. Thomas, at Richmond. The murder, which occurred in March, was for the purpose of stealing Mrs. Thomas' property and going to America with a man named Webb. The only witnesses to the execution were the sheriff, the surgeon and the chaplain. No reporters were permitted. The sheriff reported that Mrs. Webster met her death with dignity. The body was buried in a shallow grave on prison grounds and covered in lime.[5]

In 1930, inmate James Edward Spiers, serving a 10-year sentence for armed robbery, took his own life in front of a group of justices of the peace who were there to witness his receiving 15 lashes, then a form of judicial corporal punishment.[6]

In 1951, Wandsworth was the holding prison for a national stock of the birch and the cat o' nine tails, implements for corporal punishment inflicted as a disciplinary penalty under the prison rules.[7] An example of a flogging with the "cat" carried out in Wandsworth Prison itself was reported in July 1954.[8]

On 8 July 1965, Ronnie Biggs escaped from the prison, where he was serving a 30-year sentence for his part in the Great Train Robbery. Two years later he fled to Brazil and remained on the run until 2001, when he returned to the UK.[9]

The prison was originally designed to hold less than a thousand inmates, but as of 2023, there are between 1,300 and 1,500 people currently incarcerated at Wandsworth.[10]

Recent history

Panorama of HMP Wandsworth from Heathfield Road

In October 2009, gross misconduct charges were brought against managers of Wandsworth Prison, after an investigation found that prisoners had been temporarily transferred to HMP Pentonville before inspections. The transfers, which included vulnerable prisoners, were made in order to manipulate prison population figures.[13]

In March 2011, an unannounced follow-up inspection was conducted by the Chief Inspector of Prisons, which found that "...Wandsworth compared badly with similar prisons facing similar challenges and we were concerned by what appeared to be unwillingness among some prison managers and staff to acknowledge and take responsibility for the problems the prison faced."[14]

In May 2015 a prisoner was found dead in his cell, prompting a murder investigation.[15]

On 6 September 2023, Daniel Abed Khalife, on remand awaiting trial in relation to terrorism and the Official Secrets Act, escaped from the prison.[16][17] The escape caused significant disruption at airports and ports around the UK due to enhanced security checks.[18] He was found and arrested in the Northolt area on 9 September 2023.[19]

Wandsworth Prison contains eight wings on two units. The smaller unit, containing three wings, was originally designed for women. This unit will focus and house prisoners who attended full time activities.

Education and training courses are offered at Wandsworth. Facilities at the prison include two gyms and a sports hall. The large prison chaplaincy offers chaplains from the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, Mormon, and Jehovah's Witness faiths.

A BBC investigation showed large scale drug abuse and cannabis openly being smoked and harder drugs found. There are allegations of staff corruption, even of staff bringing drugs into the prison.[20] Wandsworth has lost its status as a reform prison. Glyn Travis of the Prison Officers Association said, "Wandsworth staff had bought into the reform process and worked well with the governor to implement the reforms. Now, the prison has lost its reform status and once again, staff and prisoners have been left high and dry as this government's agenda seems to change at the drop of a hat."[21] Wandsworth is the most overcrowded prison in England and body scanners were not used on visitors to prevent contraband being brought into the prison, allegedly due to shortage of staff. Peter Clarke said, "In essence, there were too many prisoners, many with drug-related or mental health issues, and with not enough to do." Also, not all staff carried anti-ligature knives despite six suicides since 2015.[22]

Chris Atkins'[23] book A Bit of a Stretch: The Diaries of a Prisoner[24] describes ongoing poor conditions during his stay in 2016–2017 with many of the touted improvements merely being described on paper rather than in existence in the prison. He describes some of the changes that were attempted as part of the "Prison and Safety Reform (2016)" that were not successful.

• Bat Khurts, head of Mongolia's counter-terrorism agency, 2010.[25]
• Boris Becker, German tennis player, convicted on four charges under the UK's Insolvency Act 2022[26]
• Bruce Reynolds, the man who organised the Great Train Robbery. He spent time in Wandsworth for breaking and entering, assault and also robbery.
• Charles Bronson, notorious long-term inmate and artist.
• Chris Atkins, journalist and documentary maker jailed for fraud.[23] Upon his release, Atkins published a book about his time in Wandsworth.[24]
• Chris Huhne, former Energy Secretary jailed for perverting the course of justice in relation to swapping fixed penalty points with his then wife, Vicky Pryce.
• Christopher Tappin, businessman convicted in the US for selling weapons parts to Iran in violation of international sanctions and jailed 33 months in January 2013; transferred from FCI Allenwood, Pennsylvania to serve his remaining 14-month sentence at Wandsworth in September 2013.[27]
• Daniel Abed Khalife, former soldier and escaped and recaptured remand prisoner[28]
• David Chaytor, first MP to be convicted for his part in the United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal.[29]
• Derek Bentley, convicted of the murder of a policeman and hanged at Wandsworth in 1953, later posthumously pardoned in 1993 and had his murder conviction overturned in 1998.
• Digga D, drill musician from West London convicted for inciting of violence[30] and breaches of a criminal behaviour order.[31] Digga has served multiple sentences at Wandsworth.[32]
• Eric Chappelow, World War I conscientious objector, for four months in 1916.[33]
• Gary Glitter, singer, songwriter, and convicted sex offender.[34]
• Graham Rix, former footballer and coach who was jailed for having underage sex with a 15-year-old girl.[35]
• Ike Ekweremadu, Nigerian politician and former Senator of Nigeria convicted of bringing a 21-year-old man into the UK from Lagos, Nigeria in an organ-harvesting plot.[36][37]
• James Earl Ray, assassin of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Remanded from 8 June to 19 July 1968.[38]
• Julian Assange,[39] was remanded in custody at HMP Wandsworth on 7 December 2010 after being refused bail prior to an extradition hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court. On 16 December 2010, he was released on bail after another appeal.[40]
• Mark Aizlewood, former international footballer who was jailed for fraud in 2018. Aizlewood was later transferred to a prison in Wales.[41]
• Max Clifford, former publicist, convicted of 8 counts of indecent assault,[42] later moved to HM Prison Littlehey in June 2014.
• Mazhar Majeed, cricket agent convicted for his part in the Pakistan cricket spot-fixing controversy.[43]
• Mohammad Asif, cricketer convicted for his part in the Pakistan cricket spot-fixing controversy.[43]
• Nirav Modi, fugitive diamond merchant, a principal in the Punjab National Bank Scam, who fled to the UK from India.
• Oscar Wilde, writer.[44]
• Pete Doherty, musician.[45]
• Roger Hallam, Co-founder of Extinction Rebellion and climate movement activist, on remand for 'Conspiracy to Commit a Public Nuisance'.[46]
• Rolf Harris, Australian-born artist and entertainer, convicted for twelve counts of indecent assault,[47] and it was reported that he never turned up at Wandsworth but instead moved to HM Prison Bullingdon.[48]
• Ronnie Biggs, participant in the Great Train Robbery, who escaped from the prison in 1965 before fleeing the country.[49]
• Ronnie Kray, organised crime leader.[50]
• Salman Butt, cricketer convicted for his part in the Pakistan cricket spot-fixing controversy.[43]
• Tom O'Carroll, pro-paedophile activist and convicted sex offender, imprisoned in the early 1980s for conspiracy to corrupt public morals.[51]

Wandsworth is mentioned in multiple forms of media.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wandsworth Prison.

• Ministry of Justice pages on Wandsworth
• Victorian Prisoners' Photograph Albums from Wandsworth prison on The National Archives' website.

51°27′00.5″N 0°10′39.5″W