6th December 2016, London - Commenting on a Buzzfeed investigation reporting widespread corruption in the HM Prison Service, Duncan Hames Transparency International UK’s Director of Policy said:

"Reports of corrupt prison officers are surely the dog that doesn't bark in the failure to keep drugs out of our prisons. These serious allegations illustrate how difficult it can be to drive out corruption once it has become established."

"Many of the issues raised: poor protection of whistle-blowers, inadequately resourced investigations, and insufficiently independent monitoring and oversight, are relevant to any sector at risk of corruption. This highlights how the Government’s promised Anti-Corruption Strategy must address domestic corruption systematically, both in areas where it is known to be a problem and in others where we rely on the resilience of public institutions."

“We now need the Ministry of Justice to challenge the reports they receive to ensure that their assessment of corruption in the Prison Service is objective, accurate and complete; inviting the Chief Inspector of Prisons to mount their own independent investigations where necessary. Public confidence can ultimately only be won by being open about the scale of the problem, and not by withholding information.”

***ENDS***

Contact:

Dominic Kavakeb
Dominic.kavakeb@transparency.org.uk
+4420 3096 7695
+44 7964 560340