Two Forest Bank prison staff were suspended over misconduct allegations

The Salford jail was hit with a damning inspection report this week.

HMP Forest Bank

The press can reveal that two staff members at the privately-run Forest Bank Prison have been suspended over allegations of misconduct. Details are scarce, but Sodexo Justice Services, the private company which runs the prison in Salford, confirmed the staff members were suspended pending an investigation into allegations of misconduct.

The press understands the suspensions arose after an alleged incident involving an inmate last weekend. Still, Sodexo Justice Services has not confirmed the nature or circumstances behind the alleged misconduct they were suspended over.

The news comes after a damning report on the prison, which said HMP Forest Bank is “unable to fulfil its role successfully.” Education provision at the jail in Agecroft is “inadequate”, and prisoners are locked in their cells most of the day, with limited access to the gym and library.

The Chief Inspector of Prisons said, “leaders show limited ambition to improve the situation”, and prison staff, according to the report, are “disillusioned,” with officer retention rates said to be poor.

In January, the press reported Sodexo Justice Services was to keep the contract after beefing up security and conducting a significant refurbishment.

The prison can hold 1,460 inmates.

This followed the government issuing a 45-day improvement notice in August. The “significant concerns and rectification notice” was slapped on the jail by the Ministry of Justice.

Sodexo Justice Services run the prison, and if progress had not been made, the company could have lost the contract, which is scheduled to run until 2025.

A spokesperson for HMP Forest Bank said: "We can confirm two staff members have been suspended pending an investigation into allegations of misconduct. We do not comment on individuals and cannot provide any further comment." Sodexo Justice Services have provided no further details.

The Category B prison, off Agecroft Road, opened in 2000 and accepted its first inmates in January that year. It currently houses around 1,460 men - adult men both on remand or sentenced and young prisoners between the ages of 18-21 years.