Drone drugs and weapons deliveries ‘national threat to security’, says prison watchdog

The chief inspector of prisons has warned that urgent action is needed to tackle drones bringing drugs and weapons into prisons, describing the technology as a “threat to national security”.

Charlie Taylor, who heads the prison watchdog, said that drones are being used to transport illegal items to some of the most dangerous criminals in the country, including terrorists.

Taylor said that the prison service, police, and other security services need to urgently confront organised gang activity and reduce the supply of drugs and other illicit items.

Inspections at HMP Manchester and HMP Long Lartin in September and October by HM Inspectorate of Prisons revealed serious concerns with safety and security.

The watchdog said the situation at Manchester was so bad that Taylor issued an urgent notification for improvement to the secretary of state.

Both jails had thriving illicit economies of drugs, mobile phones and weapons, and basic security measures such as protective netting and CCTV had been allowed to fall into disrepair.

In Manchester, prisoners were burning holes in supposedly secure windows so they could continue to receive regular deliveries by drone, with the HM Inspectorate of Prisons revealing that some of these deliveries contain items which have the potential to lead to serious disruption and potential escape.

The inspection found that almost 40 per cent of prisoners had tested positive in mandatory drug tests at Manchester, while 50 per cent of those at Long Lartin said that it was “easy” to obtain drugs and alcohol.

“It is highly alarming that the police and prison service have, in effect ceded the airspace above two high-security prisons to organised crime gangs which are able to deliver contraband to jails holding extremely dangerous prisoners including some who have been designated as high-risk category A,” Taylor added. “The safety of staff, prisoners and ultimately that of the public, is seriously compromised by the failure to tackle what has become a threat to national security.”