Revealed: Government's Strangeways action plan after sickening conditions inside jail brutally exposed

New CCTV and netting is being introduced at Strangeways prison in a new 'action plan' to prevent a tide of drugs getting in via drones.

It comes after a scathing report by the Chief Inspector of Prisons last month exposed the 'catastrophic' level of illicit drugs available inside the prison, formally HMP Manchester, known as Strangeways.

Conditions inside the prison were exposed in one of the most shockingly brutal official exposes ever published by the watchdog. HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor used words like 'squalid' and 'filthy' to describe conditions in the rat-infested prison - and 'catastrophic' for the torrent of illicit drugs available inside.

READ MORE: Inside Strangeways, the drug-ridden rat-infested prison 'run by gangs'

Now, the Ministry of Justice has revealed details of an action plan to improve security and conditions inside the ailing 156-year-old high-security prison, promising improved staff training and 'bespoke' pest control plan because of its rat infestation.

Also promised is a new CCTV system and netting across the site to combat drones and clamp down on the contraband that fuels violence behind bars.

Specialist staff will also be appointed to spot and support vulnerable prisoners at risk of self-harm and new training will be delivered to frontline officers to improve the management of violent offenders, according to the MoJ.

Lord Timpson, Minister for Prisons and Probation, said: "The chief inspectors report made for dire reading and highlighted the stark realities of the prison crisis we inherited.

"I have visited the prison myself and met with the governor. The frontline staff are already working hard to reduce violence and improve conditions. This action plan will ensure they have the support they need."

Phrases such as 'fundamentally unsafe' and 'unstable' were also used to describe HMP Manchester by the watchdog. Mr Taylor labelled the prison 'amongst the most violent' in the UK. Organised crime gangs and the supply of drugs are 'clearly undermining every aspect of prison life', he added. The number of weapons and illicit items uncovered during the watchdog's visit in September was among the highest of all adult male prisons.

More than half the inmates at the high security category A jail - which can house more than 700 men - reported they felt unsafe. Staff morale was 'low', Mr Taylor wrote.

Many of the jail's windows were smashed and inmates were reduced to ripping foam from their mattresses to push into window frames to keep out the cold, said the report.

The situation was so bad the inspector published an 'urgent' improvement notice he had sent to Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood. Even more concerning was the watchdog's assertion that there had been 'little progress in addressing our previous concerns' from a previous inspection in 2021.

The prison's governor Robert Knight, who has been governor at the high security category A prison for the last five years, told the Manchester Evening News last month that he didn't want to comment on whether the supply of drugs was 'catastrophic' but he added: "I would say staff morale has been dented. Nobody wants to be told they are doing a bad job, especially a job they are doing in difficult circumstances."

He added: "We will pick ourselves up and make the necessary improvements. I'm confident of that."