PRISONS ATTACK INSPECTOR'S CLAIM ON DRUG BARONS

THE bitter feud between the Prison Service and the Chief Inspector of
Prisons erupted into the open last night when it dismissed his claim that
drug barons operated in big prisons as "empty words".

Sir David Ramsbotham was told to "put up or shut up" and challenged to
produce evidence to support his allegation that some of the big prisons in
England and Wales harboured at least 20 dealers.

In a brief statement indicating that the service had finally lost patience
with the chief inspector, it said he had been unable to produce evidence to
support his previous allegations about the extent of drug dealing and
expected none from him on this occasion.

The statement said: "Without evidence to back up claims of this kind, they
are just empty words. We take prompt action against prisoners using drugs
when we have the evidence. Nothing was provided last time and we are not
anticipating any this time."

But last night the 27,000-strong Prison Officers Association rallied to
support Sir David's claim. Mark Freeman of the association said that in
jails such as Leeds or Liverpool, with up to 1,100 inmates, it was quite
possible for that number of people to be dealing in drugs: "They will be
taking the stuff, they will be dealing in it. Some purely for profit and
some bartering for other goods," he said.

The chief inspector is increasingly frustrated at funding cuts that have
hit education and training programmes and believes the service should be
overhauled to provide better-focused direction. He also believes the Prison
Service should take a much tougher approach towards stopping drugs getting
into jails and "isolating" drug barons from other prisoners.

Sir David's latest claim infuriated officials, who have dismissed him as a
"loose cannon" intent on extending the remit of his role from being
inspector of prisons to inspector of the Prison Service.

The chief inspector's claim that at least 20 drug barons operated in each
of the biggest jails was made to MPs investigating prison issues and what
alternative punishments could replace prison sentences.

It was included in a letter sent to the Commons Home Affairs Select
Committee after he told them in March that there were ten drug barons in
each of the 135 jails in the country. Sir David told both Jack Straw, the
Home Secretary, and Richard Tilt, the Director-General of the Prison
Service, that he was mistaken and that the true number of drug barons is
much higher than his original "top of the head" estimate.

He writes in his letter: "I also explained to the Home Secretary and to the
Director-General that my own inspector told me that I was wrong, in that
there were at least 20 in some of the bigger prisons."

Sir David says that in highlighting the number of remand or convicted
criminals operating as dealers, he was attempting to show how much misery
they caused among other inmates.

In the letter sent in May, Sir David admits that he cannot possibly
evaluate exactly how many drug dealers there are and that it is "invidious
to quibble over whether ten is or is not the correct assessment".

Sir David's letter, which has been seen by The Times, does not reveal which
of the bigger prisons has at least 20 criminals dealing in drugs, causing
misery for inmates and driving people into debt. The letter was in reply to
a note from Mr Tilt, answering a number of the assertions made by Sir
David.

Checked-by: Joel W. Johnson