Legal highs may have sparked HMP Dovegate riot

Serco said it was "working extremely hard" to address the issues at HMP Dovegate

So-called legal highs could have sparked a riot at Dovegate Prison in Staffordshire, a report has found.

Six prisoners took over a residential wing last March. A "catastrophic failure of basic security procedure" allowed a convicted robber to escape in May, independent inspectors said.

The use of so-called legal highs led to widespread debt, bullying and violence among inmates, inspectors found.

Serco said the report recognised challenges of psychoactive substances.

The Independent Monitoring Board annual report said: "Assaults and weapon finds still give rise for concern."

In the nine months to the end of September 2015 there were 38 assaults on staff by prisoners and 106 assaults between inmates. There were 45 fights and 136 weapon finds, the report said.

New psychoactive substances "could well have been a major contributing factor" for the events of 26 March, said the report.

Six prisoners caused "significant interruption to the prison regime" and the National Offender Management service's riot unit, known as the Tornado team, was called in to restore order.

On 27 May, Haroon Ahmed walked out of the visits hall with a visitor, through the gatehouse of the prison.

Michael Guy from firm Serco which runs the jail said: "This report recognises both the considerable changes there have been at Dovegate over the past year and the challenges faced in all prisons of tackling the problem of psychoactive substances, overcrowding and making our prisons safer.

"We are working extremely hard to address these issues."