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Refurbished in-patient cell at Wandsworth Prison. Unofrtunately there was no room for Yasine Bazine. At the recent inquest of Yasine Bazine, who took his own life in Wandsworth Prison in 2023, two psychiatrists said that he should never have been in prison. The jury agreed with them that prison was not an appropriate place for Yasine to be detained. The prison psychiatrist was trying to get Yasine moved to a psychiatric hospital at the time of his death. Yasine Bazine was 25

Come to the next WPIC Meeting on 10 October 2026 Thank you to everyone who came to our last meeting on 27 June to hear from Tim Kerr of the Howard League. If you want to find out more about Wandsworth Prison or get more involved in the Wandsworth Prison Improvement Campaign come to our next meeting on Saturday 10 October 2026, 10am-1pm in the Wandsworth Quaker Meeting House, 59 Wandsworth High Street, SW18 2PT. If you didn’t buy a Wandsworth Prison Welfare Trust mug at the

This is a summary, produced mostly by AI, of the report of the findings of the Measuring the Quality of Prison Life (MQPL) survey undertaken at HMP Wandsworth from 17–20 November 2025. WPIC obtained a copy of the report through a Freedom of Information request. The survey is based on a random sample of prisoners. It measures prisoners’ perceptions of different areas of prison life based on their experiences over the previous few months at Wandsworth Prison. 83 prisoners compl

Aristotle‘s Prison: A search for humanity in tragic places By Prof. Alison Liebling, PhD Oxford University Press, pp 472 £ 39.99 This is a crucial book. A masterpiece of penal theory. It fights the managerialism of the new penology: “we are running a business now . . . managing prisons not prisoners” …”we don’t have time for luxuries like moral philosophy” with its own weapons: incontrovertible findings created by the system itself. These prove nearly all prisons today are

Amber Rudd. Image courtesy of UK Government On 1 July 2026, Shortly before he was replaced as Lord Chancellor, David Lammy announced that former Home Secretary Amber Rudd would lead a review “to make prisons safer, tackle crime and deliver long-term reform that protects the public”. The review is due to report by December 2026. WPIC has made a submission to the review. Our full response is attached at the end of this post. Because the review required an online response to a n

The death of Alekandras Maslennikovas (AM) illustrates a total lack of professional curiosity from officers or health providers in the prison. They saw a man who had caused no trouble for thirteen months, suddenly start to show signs of extreme depression and fear and hurt himself in a serious suicide attempt, but took no interest in why. Why? They said they liked him, and he told them that it had been a mistake. AM was 47 and a Lithuanian. He was arrested in Britain becaus

Come to the next WPIC meeting on 27 June Thanks to everyone who came to our last meeting on 11 April. We were especially pleased to welcome new family members of men in Wandsworth Prison. Their information about conditions inside Wandsworth is really valuable. We have passed on to the Governor the positive feedback we heard about Wandsworth's Safer Custody team. If you want to find out more about Wandsworth Prison or get more involved in the Wandsworth Prison Improvement Camp

Come to the next WPIC meeting on 11 April If you want to find out more about conditions in Wandsworth Prison or get more involved in the Wandsworth Prison Improvement Campaign come to our next meeting on Saturday 11 April 2026, 10am-1pm in the Wandsworth Quaker Meeting House, 59 Wandsworth High Street, SW18 2PT. WPIC’s third visit to Wandsworth Prison Members of WPIC made our third visit to Wandsworth Prison on 4 February, almost a year after our first visit. We met several m

Never get arrested and sent to prison at the weekend -that would have been good advice for Waleed Ali Waleed Ali did not have much luck in life. Even as a child he had never been right, he heard things and had never been sent to school. He had been taken prisoner to Iraq as a young Kurdish man and possibly tortured. By 2022 he was in London and was being cared for by his family here. His doctors recognised potential PTSD and a learning disability, and depression. He was tak

The "Scandi wing" in Wandsworth Prison, pioneering a more supportive approach Members of WPIC were invited to make a third visit to Wandsworth Prison on 4 February 2026. We met several members of staff who showed us everything we had asked to see. The staff we met answered all our questions and we then had an extended meeting with the Governor, Andy Davy. General impressions Most of the prison was in lockdown when we visited because of staff training. The atmosphere was quiet

This article was originally published on 11 January 2026 in Putney News which does a fine job of reporting on Wandsworth Prison. The text is reprinted here with their kind permission. Adrian Usher, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, speaking at WPIC's public meeting in May 2025. A prison watchdog has expressed shock over multiple failures at Wandsworth Prison that left a suicidal man dead just 48 hours after his arrival, with staff repeatedly ignoring warnings and missing

Next WPIC meeting, 24 January 2026 If you want to find out more about conditions inside Wandsworth Prison or get more involved in the Wandsworth Prison Improvement Campaign come to our next meeting on Saturday 24 January 2026, 10am-1pm in the Wandsworth Quaker Meeting House, 59 Wandsworth High Street, SW18 2PT. Fundraising event Thanks to all of you who came to our fundraising event on 12 November. Errol McGlashan, former inmate of Wandsworth and friend of WPIC, performed his

Reminder of next WPIC meeting, 18 October If you want to get more involved in the Wandsworth Prison Improvement Campaign come to our next...

Many men leave prison. whether at the end of their prison sentence or released not guilty, without any warm clothing. They often face...

The Prison Service, HMPPS, has appointed a new CEO, James McEwen, who was previously Chief Operating Officer at the Ministry of Justice....

Patryk was the 15 th prisoner to commit suicide at HMP Wandsworth since January 2021 and the 8 th foreign national. He died in hospital...

The prison Ombudsman described the failures of Wandsworth prison to care for Rajwinder Singh as voluminous and diverse. He said that...

Come to our next meeting and get involved If you want to get more involved in the Wandsworth Prison Improvement Campaign come to our next...

This post was originally published in August 2025. It was updated in November 2025 to refer to the MOJ/HMPPS response to the Justice and Home Affairs Committee's report. The House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee does not pull its punches in its recent report into leadership, governance and staffing of prisons and the need for reform to reduce reoffending. It is highly critical of leadership from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Prison Service (HMPPS) in part

A refurbished cell in the Addison in-patient unit The Governor of Wandsworth Prison, Andy Davy (AD), invited WPIC for a second visit to...