36-537: HM Prison Wandsworth is a Category B men's prison at Wandsworth in the London Borough of Wandsworth , South West London, England. It is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service and is one of the largest prisons in the UK. The prison was built in 1851, when it was known as Surrey House of Correction . It was designed according to the humane separate system principle with a number of corridors radiating from
72-557: A Stretch: The Diaries of a Prisoner describes ongoing poor conditions during his stay in 2016–2017 with many of the touted improvements merely being on paper rather than having been implemented. He describes some of the attempted changes as part of the "Prison and Safety Reform (2016)" that were not successful. Wandsworth is mentioned in multiple forms of media. Wandsworth is mentioned in: 51°27′00.5″N 0°10′39.5″W / 51.450139°N 0.177639°W / 51.450139; -0.177639 Prison security categories in
108-595: A bicycle on the Grand Union Canal towpath near Rowdell Road in Northolt . The officer attended, drew his Taser , and told Khalife to get off the bicycle. Khalife was arrested at 10:41 am on suspicion of being unlawfully at large and escaping lawful custody, approximately 14 miles (23 km) from Wandsworth prison. In his possession was a mobile phone and a bag containing money and receipts which suggested that he had purchased clothes and credit for
144-475: A central control point with each prisoner having toilet facilities. The toilets were later removed to increase prison capacity and the prisoners had to " slop out ", until 1996. On 29 July 1879, Catherine Webster was executed for the murder and dismemberment of her mistress, Mrs. Thomas , at Richmond. The murder, which occurred in March, was for the purpose of stealing Mrs. Thomas' property and going to America with
180-416: A man named Webb. The only witnesses to the execution were the sheriff, the surgeon and the chaplain. No reporters were permitted. The sheriff reported that Mrs. Webster met her death with dignity. The body was buried in a shallow grave on prison grounds and covered in lime. In 1930, inmate James Edward Spiers, serving a 10-year sentence for armed robbery , took his own life in front of a group of justices of
216-556: A nationwide police search and delays at major transport hubs. Khalife is believed to have escaped by attaching himself to the underside of a food delivery lorry whilst he was working in the prison's kitchen. After three days as a fugitive , he was captured by the Metropolitan Police in Northolt , Greater London. Daniel Abed Khalife was born on 27 September 2001 in London to an Iranian -born mother. He formerly lived in
252-497: A new trial date was set to begin from 7 October 2024. On 11 November 2024, Khalife changed his plea to guilty for the charge of escaping lawful custody. On 7 September 2023 Alex Chalk MP, the Justice Secretary, ordered an investigation into the escape with a preliminary report being requested to be ready by the end of the week. This will include investigating the vehicle in question, whether other prisoners could enact
288-502: A similar escape, and how Khalife was assigned to the kitchen, usually a valued job given to trusted prisoners, where he had access to knives and a potential escape route. On 8 September Sir Mark Rowley , Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, described the escape as "clearly pre-planned", and that the police were investigating whether he was assisted in his escape by other prisoners, prison officers, or people from outside
324-511: A vulnerable and mentally ill 18-year-old Lithuanian national, Osvaldas Pagirys hanged himself in his cell in the prison's segregation unit. Osvaldas, who spoke little-to-no English was detained for extradition to Lithuania for stealing sweets and hanged himself in his cell after a series of failures by the prison. These failings including punishing him for his mental health rather than assisting him, using Google Translate to assess his risk of suicide, not acting on several prior suicide attempts and, on
360-909: Is now used as a tea room for prison officers. The gallows' trapdoor and lever were sent to the Prison Service Museum in Rugby , Warwickshire . After this museum permanently closed in 2004, they were sent to the Galleries of Justice in Nottingham , where those and an execution box may be seen. In October 2009, gross misconduct charges were brought against managers of Wandsworth Prison, after an investigation found that prisoners had been temporarily transferred to HMP Pentonville before inspections. The transfers, which included vulnerable prisoners, were made in order to manipulate population figures. In March 2011, an unannounced follow-up inspection
396-486: Is the most overcrowded prison in England, and body scanners were not used on visitors to prevent contraband being brought into the prison, allegedly due to shortage of staff. Peter Clarke said, "In essence, there were too many prisoners, many with drug-related or mental-health issues, and with not enough to do." Also, not all staff carried anti-ligature knives despite six suicides since 2015. Chris Atkins ' book A Bit of
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#1732780887076432-734: The Criminal Law Act 1977 and contrary to section 58A of the Terrorism Act 2000 respectively. On 21 July, Khalife appeared at the Old Bailey and pleaded not guilty to charges under the Official Secrets Act and the Terrorism Act. His trial was due to begin on 13 November 2023. On 6 September 2023 Khalife escaped from HM Prison Wandsworth in south west London where he was being held on remand. He
468-646: The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames . He attended Teddington School , a comprehensive school in Teddington , Greater London, where he was a talented runner. He left school in 2018. Khalife joined the army in 2018 or 2019. He was a network engineer serving with the Royal Corps of Signals , and was based at Beacon Barracks , Stafford . He was discharged from the army in May 2023, following
504-564: The gallows was located near the A wing. In 1911, a new gallows was built between the E and F wings, and in 1938 a further gallows was built at the E wing. Among those executed by hanging were: (in order by date of execution) On 25 April 1951, a double execution took place at Wandsworth, when Edward Smith and Joseph Brown stood on the gallows together and were executed simultaneously. The final executions at Wandsworth were those of Francis Forsyth on 10 November 1960, Victor John Terry on 25 May 1961 and Henryk Niemasz on 8 September 1961 (Forsyth
540-551: The Met undertook a search; this included using helicopters with infra-red technology to search for body heat. The Met said that 150 officers were involved in the search, in addition to police from other forces and members of the Border Force . From 8 September, a reward of up to £20,000 was offered for information leading to Khalife's arrest. At 5 pm on 8 September, police confirmed a sighting of Khalife in southwest London on
576-501: The Northolt area on 9 September 2023. In June 2024, the prison was investigated after a video emerged that allegedly showed a prison officer having sex with one of the inmates. Wandsworth Prison contains eight wings on two units. The smaller unit, containing three wings, was originally designed for women. This unit houses prisoners who attend full time activities. Education and training courses are offered at Wandsworth. Facilities at
612-558: The United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, prisoners are divided into four categories of security. Each adult is assigned to a category according to their crime, sentence, the risk of escape, and violent tendencies. The categories are designated with the letters A to D, with A being the highest level of security, and D the lowest. There are three different prison services in the United Kingdom, and separate services for
648-528: The accusations were set out, including that he left canisters with wires at MOD Stafford on 2 January 2023 with the intent of "inducing in another the belief the item was likely to explode or ignite" and that he had accessed the Joint Personnel Administration to elicit personal information about soldiers "likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism" in 2021. These offences were contrary to section 51 of
684-690: The age, gender and security classification of the prisoners it holds. Male adult prisoners (those aged 18 or over) are given a security categorisation soon after they enter prison. These categories are based on a combination of the type of crime committed, the length of sentence, the likelihood of escape, and the danger to the public if they were to escape. The four categories are: Category A, B and C prisons are called closed prisons, whereas category D prisons are called open prisons. Category A prisoners are further divided into standard risk, high risk and exceptional risk, based on their likelihood of escaping. Men on remand are held in category B conditions with
720-821: The charges relating to terrorism and breaking the Official Secrets Act . In August 2021, Khalife was arrested on suspicion of breaching the Official Secrets Act and was bailed and allowed to return to his army base. In January 2023, he was charged with terror and explosives offences and remanded to HM Prison Wandsworth, a Category B men's prison, to await his trial. The offences related to two incidents in Staffordshire , one in August 2021 and one in January 2023. Khalife appeared before Westminster Magistrates' Court on 7 February 2023 where details of
756-402: The day of his death, not answering his cell emergency bell for nearly an hour, which could have saved his life. On 6 September 2023, Daniel Abed Khalife , on remand awaiting trial in relation to terrorism and the Official Secrets Act, escaped from the prison. The escape caused significant disruption at airports and ports around the UK due to enhanced security checks. He was found and arrested in
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#1732780887076792-427: The exception of some of those who are held to be tried on (very) serious offences. These men are held in "provisional category A" conditions. Prisoners who have made active attempts to escape from custody are placed on the holding prison's escape list. These prisoners (sometimes referred to as "E men" or "E list men") are required to wear distinctive, brightly coloured clothing when being moved both inside and outside of
828-528: The lockdown of the prison and informing the police. At 8:37 am, police stopped the food van in East Putney , and discovered strapping—possibly made from bedsheets—beneath the vehicle. Khalife's escape sparked a police search, and additional security checks at British airports and ports. During the night of 7/8 September, Richmond Park , the largest park in Greater London, was closed while
864-690: The mobile phone. On 10 September the Metropolitan Police confirmed Khalife had been charged with escaping from lawful custody in relation to escaping from HMP Wandsworth. He appeared before Westminster Magistrates Court on 11 September, where he was remanded in custody until 29 September when he will appear at the Old Bailey. Following the hearing he was taken from court to the Category A Belmarsh Prison . On 21 September Khalife appeared in court from Belmarsh Prison via videolink and pleaded not guilty to escaping from lawful custody. On 21 December
900-492: The morning of the escape. They stated that a man fitting Khalife's description was seen walking away from a Bidfood van near Wandsworth Roundabout shortly after his escape; the man then walked towards Wandsworth town centre. On the morning of 9 September, Metropolitan Police reported that Khalife had been sighted overnight in the Chiswick area of London. A plain-clothed officer was informed that Khalife had been seen on
936-614: The nature of the offence they have been accused or convicted of: Since 2002, in Scotland , prisoners have been assigned to one of three categories: Prisoners (adult and young, male and female) are classified in a similar way to the English/Welsh system: Daniel Abed Khalife On 6 September 2023 Daniel Abed Khalife, a former British Army soldier who was on remand awaiting trial on terrorism charges , escaped from HM Prison Wandsworth in London. The escape triggered
972-587: The peace who were there to witness his receiving 15 lashes, then a form of judicial corporal punishment . In 1951, Wandsworth was the holding prison for a national stock of the birch and the cat o' nine tails , implements for corporal punishment inflicted as a disciplinary penalty under the prison rules. An example of a flogging with the "cat" carried out in Wandsworth Prison itself was reported in July 1954. On 8 July 1965, Ronnie Biggs escaped from
1008-508: The prison and are handcuffed. In addition they are required to change cells frequently and to have their clothes and some of their personal property removed from their cell before being locked in for the night. Women are also classified into four categories. These categories are: Remand prisoners are always held in closed prisons. When children under 18 are sentenced or remanded in custody, they may be sent to one of three types of establishment depending on their needs, age, vulnerability and
1044-473: The prison include two gyms and a sports hall. The large prison chaplaincy offers chaplains from the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, Mormon, and Jehovah's Witness faiths. A BBC investigation showed large-scale drug abuse, with cannabis being openly smoked and harder drugs found. There are allegations of staff corruption, including of staff bringing drugs into
1080-485: The prison, where he was serving a 30-year sentence for his part in the Great Train Robbery . Two years later he fled to Brazil and remained on the run until 2001, when he returned to the UK. The prison was originally designed to hold less than a thousand inmates, but as of 2023, there are between 1,300 and 1,500 prisoners. Wandsworth was the site of 135 executions , between 1878 and 1961. Built in 1878,
1116-711: The prison. The chief prison inspector, Charlie Taylor, said that there are "too many prisoners in Wandsworth for the amount of staff who are there". Inspectors also stated that "more than 30% of prison officers were either absent or unable to work their full duties." On 9 May 2024 Taylor wrote to the Secretary of State for Justice to urge him to put the prison into emergency measures after an inspection raised concerns about ongoing failings in security at Wandsworth. On 10 September 2023 Chalk confirmed that approximately 40 inmates had been transferred from Wandsworth following
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1152-495: The prison. Wandsworth has lost its status as a reform prison. Glyn Travis of the Prison Officers Association said, "Wandsworth staff had bought into the reform process and worked well with the governor to implement the reforms. Now, the prison has lost its reform status and once again, staff and prisoners have been left high and dry as this government's agenda seems to change at the drop of a hat." Wandsworth
1188-945: The three Crown Dependencies . His Majesty's Prison Service manages prisons in England and Wales , and also serves as the National Offender Management Service for England and Wales. Prisons in Scotland are managed by the Scottish Prison Service and prisons in Northern Ireland are managed by the Northern Ireland Prison Service . The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands have their own prison administrations. Prisons in England and Wales are divided into several categories relating to
1224-489: Was conducted by the Chief Inspector of Prisons , which found that "...Wandsworth compared badly with similar prisons facing similar challenges and we were concerned by what appeared to be unwillingness among some prison managers and staff to acknowledge and take responsibility for the problems the prison faced." In May 2015 a prisoner was found dead in his cell, prompting a murder investigation. On 11 November 2018,
1260-400: Was one of just four 18-year-olds executed in a British prison in the twentieth century). With the exceptions of Scott-Ford, who was convicted of treachery , and Joyce and Amery, who were convicted of treason , all executions were for the crime of murder. The gallows were kept in full working order until 1993 and tested every six months. In 1994, they were dismantled and the condemned suite
1296-507: Was said to have been working in the prison kitchen and was wearing a chef's uniform consisting of a white t-shirt, red and white chequered trousers and brown steel-toe cap boots. The Metropolitan Police (Met) believe that Khalife escaped by hiding beneath a food delivery van using a material which was "made from bedsheets with clips at each end". A food supply vehicle had left the prison at 7:30 am and contingency plans for an "unaccounted prisoner" were activated at 7:50 am, including
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