The Secretary of State for Justice should be tackling the fundamental issues that are causing a deep crisis in our prisons - Burgon

Commenting on the application in the High Court today by Secretary of State David Lidington to obtain a permanent injunction against the Prison Officers Association, Labour's Shadow Secretary of State for Justice Richard Burgon said: 

 “Rather than trying to silence the health and safety concerns of prison officers through court injunctions, the Secretary of State for Justice should be tackling the fundamental issues that are causing a deep crisis in our prisons. 

“Violence, self-harm, and drugs continue to define the prison environment. Yet the Government appears to have given up trying to sort out their mess, even dropping its Prison’s Bill from the recent Queen's Speech.

“If Justice Secretary David Lidington wants to get a grip of the crisis in our prisons he should be working with prison officers to improve their terms and conditions to create jobs which are both safe and attractive, so that we can begin to end the chronic under-staffing caused by the Conservative cuts agenda.

“Labour would begin to solve this by ending the public-sector pay cap and recruiting 3,000 new prisons officers.”