Two prisoners attacked after vengeful inmate 'manages to sneak into sex offender wing'

Two inmates were reportedly injured in the attack after a prisoner snuck onto the wing that houses sex offenders in the prison which has been the subject of scrutiny in recent years

An investigation has been launched at a prison after reports an inmate was able to access a wing holding sex offenders before attacking two other inmates.

The incident at Forest Bank prison in Salford, Greater Manchester, is said to have happened on Saturday, September 14, when an inmate who is housed on B Wing managed to get onto D Wing where sex offenders are kept separate from the rest of the prison population. Two prisoners are believed to have been attacked on the wing.

Prison bosses have confirmed one inmate was treated for injures but didn't require hospital treatment and an investigation is now underway. The jail has been plagued with problems in recent years, the Manchester Evening News reports. In April last year, an M.E.N. investigation uncovered allegations of widespread drug use and inmates who 'run the wings', prompting an MP and Salford's mayor to write to the government to demand an 'urgent' review.

The revelations included a call from Salford and Eccles MP Rebecca Long-Bailey for the Ministry of Justice to cancel the billion-pound contract it has with facilities giant Sodexo to run the jail. The contract runs out on January 19. Sources at the jail have said that the Ministry of Justice has decided to award the new contract to another company. Staff are said to be fearful for their jobs should a new contractor take over while insiders also say Sodexo are appealing the decision.

Following Saturday's incident, Sodexo was asked to comment on information we received that an inmate from B Wing at Forest Bank prison in Salford was able to get onto D Wing because a senior prison officer left the gate to D Wing 'open and unmanned' and attacked two inmates. We also asked if an investigation had been launched into the prison officer concerned.

In reply, a spokesperson at HMP Forest Bank said: "We can confirm an incident took place on Saturday involving three prisoners. One prisoner sustained injuries, which were treated within the prison. All such incidents are investigated carefully to ensure that any lessons can be learned quickly and ensure that those responsible for any violent acts are brought to justice.”

The bombshell MEN investigation last year, based on allegations from a whistle-blower, an ex-prisoner and his father, and the family of a grandfather who died in his cell, exposed what Salford and Eccles MP Rebecca Long-Bailey branded a 'culture of lawlessness' at the jail.

It was revealed that:

• Drugs are rife, smuggled in via 'legal letters' and inmates are 'off their t**s a lot of the time'
• Inmates brew their own hooch
• Violence is commonplace and inmates 'run the wings'
• Staff feel 'unsafe' and a lone guard can be 'left to guard 100-plus inmates'
• Staff have to buy 'their own uniform because of cost-cutting'
• A desperate father paid off a drug dealer on his addict son's wing because 'staff didn't protect him'

Sodexo's contract to run the prison ends on January 19, 2025. Back in 1998, it was awarded a deal worth £1,006,771,964 to design, build and run the prison built on the site of the former Agecroft power station under a private finance initiative to house a maximum 1,064 inmates. The deal was to last 25 years, before being extended.

Sodexo, founded and based in France, runs six prisons in England and Scotland, and in 2022 recorded revenues of 21.1 billion euros, including 'underlying operating profit' of more than a billion euros, up 83 per cent.