NOTTINGHAM Prison was hit by yet another disturbance yesterday as inmates refused to return to their cells.
The six-hour protest did not involve injuries but prison officers had to use force to move a "handful" of the demonstrators. The prisoners' action began at 3.30pm and lasted until 9.30pm.
The Ministry of Justice said it could not say how many of the inmates had been involved in what it described as a "passive protest".
"There was no fighting with staff – this was by no means a riot," a spokesman told the Post. "It was a passive protest and the majority of prisoners returned to their cells on their own accord. Force had to be used on a handful.
"None of the prisoners were armed at any point and no staff or prisoners were injured. The police have been informed."
On Monday, 23 prisoners refused to return to their cells at the Perry Road jail and prison officers complained about the level of staffing. On the same day, two other prisoners deliberately trapped themselves in safety netting and an unrelated fire was started in a different part of the prison. These incidents prompted Glyn Travis, of the Prison Officers' Association, to call for a review of the mix of prisoners.
HMP Nottingham expanded in 2010 to hold 1060 prisoners.
Following news of Monday's action, Nottingham East MP Chris Leslie said: "In the last 18 months, there has been a significant reduction of staff at the prison. There is no doubt that cutting the number of officers presents a steep challenge to maintain order."
