‘Britain’s most dangerous prisoners are being held in Belmarsh jail in a bleak and oppressive “prison within a prison” with a highly restrictive regime, official prison inspectors have found.

‘Nick Hardwick, the chief inspector of prisons, says that the “depth of custody” at the specialist high-security facility at Belmarsh is greater than anywhere else in the country.

‘He says that the south-east London jail is the only one in the country to hold “exceptional risk category A prisoners” and they are held in “dark and oppressive” conditions. A segregation unit within the special secure unit is described as “austere and sterile” while the outside exercise area is referred to as “claustrophobic” and “caged in with no seating”.

‘Michael Spurr, the chief executive officer of the National Offender Management Service, said he accepted that more work needed to be done to get the balance right between security and providing effective rehabilitative opportunities for the majority of prisoners.’

Alan Travis, The Guardian, 21 March 2014