New UK prison ‘unready, understaffed and unsafe’, inspection finds
- An Independent Monitoring Board report found that HMP Millsike was “unready, understaffed and unsafe” when it opened in April 2025.
- Basic safety procedures, such as counting prisoners and locking cell doors, were initially neglected due to inexperienced staff and reduced preparation time.
- More than 300 cells at the Yorkshire jail remain empty amidst a chronic shortfall of prison officers and recruitment difficulties in its remote location.
- An interim director appointed in February 2026 helped improve conditions by pausing prisoner intake, but inspectors cautioned against opening new wings without adequate staff.
- Operator Mitie rejected the board’s description of the opening conditions, while Justice Secretary Alex Norris pledged 110 million pounds to create additional prison capacity across the UK.
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