A list of more than 200 violent incidents at HMP Belmarsh includes fights and attacks involving makeshift weapons (Picture: Metro.co.uk, file images)

Prison officers at HMP Belmarsh were punched, bitten and slashed by inmates as violence flared at the maximum security jail, newly released incident reports show. 

The key workers were subject to more than 60 assaults over an 11-month period which left several needing hospital treatment, according to logs obtained by Metro.co.uk.  

They include an inmate trying to ‘strangle and assault’ a female officer and many of her colleagues being punched, kicked, bitten or having liquid thrown at them by prisoners. 

One inmate punched an officer in the face in an unprovoked attack before threatening to murder a member of staff if he was not released from the Category A jail in south east London. 

In another disturbing case, a female officer told of her ‘terror and shock’ after being inappropriately touched by a prisoner.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) initially refused to release the list of incidents between November 2021 and October last year before Metro.co.uk appealed to the Information Commission’s Office. After the watchdog became involved the MoJ released the document in redacted form. 

Mark Fairhurst, national chair of the Prison Officers’ Association (POA), said: ‘These shocking figures display the reality of the working conditions our brave officers face on a daily basis in what is undoubtedly the most violent and hostile workplace in western Europe.  

‘Prison officers deserve to be safe at work and the POA will use every means available to ensure staff have the protective measures in place to deal with cowardly convicts who attack staff.  

‘We will continue to lobby the government insisting that the strongest possible sentences are passed on guilty parties whilst campaigning to have our unrealistic retirement age of 68 reduced.

‘Expecting staff in their sixties to work in such unacceptably violent conditions is totally impractical.’

A general view of inmates on House Wing Four at HMP Belmarsh in Woolwich, London (Picture: Susannah Ireland/REX/Shutterstock)

One of the most serious incidents took place in December 2021, when an inmate tried to ‘strangle and assault’ an officer as she took part in breaking up a protest over the prison’s regime.  

Thirteen inmates had refused to leave a yard as they protested over ‘their perception of what regime they are entitled to’, according to one of the reports released under the Freedom of Information Act. 

Ten left compliantly but three remained, resulting in ‘Zulu’ dog units being called in. One inmate was ‘stood in a fighting stance’ but calmed down after being approached by two female officers. As they walked him off the yard he ‘upped the anti’ and assaulted one of the officers, continuing to ‘strangle and assault’ her while being restrained, according to the log.  

He was handcuffed and relocated to another part of the prison.

The incident followed another the previous month which took place while a prisoner was having his TV removed after an adjudication. As the member of staff took the set away the inmate punched him in the face.

Prison Officers’ Association chair Mark Fairhurst warned that jails have become exceptionally violent workplaces (Picture: Mark Fairhurst/POA)

Another officer was assaulted while restraining an unruly prisoner on a house block in January last year. 

The log states that the prisoner ‘purposely took hold of officer [redacted]’s testicles and squeezed and twisted them’.

Injuries to officers required hospital treatment in several cases, including an attack the following month.

An inmate had become ‘aggressive and irrational’ during a routine cell search, according to another log. As he was restrained an officer was bitten on the ribs and hand, which left him needing hospital treatment.

A colleague was also bitten on the hand while another member of staff was kicked in the face. The prisoner was relocated to a ‘sterile cell’ and searched under restraint. 

Staff have been assaulted by inmates at HMP Belmarsh (Picture: Channel 5)

A weapon was used in another incident the same month when an officer was slashed on the side of the face by an inmate. The log does not state what kind of implement was used but says that the culprit ‘was restrained and moved to segregation under restraint’ where he was searched.

Another officer described being treated with contempt and sworn at by an inmate when she tried to give him a written warning for having failed to fulfil his work duties and distracting others.

The report from March 2022 reads: ‘He snatched it out my hand and screwed it up and chucked it in my face.

‘He refused to leave and he kept telling me to “f*** off” and putting his middle finger up and showing a gun sign. Kept telling others it’s all because “I fancy him” He refused to leave for around 10 minutes.’ 

A death threat towards staff emerged from another disturbing incident the following month. In an unprovoked attack, an inmate punched an officer in the face before being restrained and relocated to the prison’s segregation unit in handcuffs.

The incident log states: ‘During the full search process Mr [redacted] stated he did it because he should not be in prison and if it’s not sorted he will murder a member of staff. Mr (redacted) was sent home off duty and both seen by healthcare.’ 

An incident of ‘terror and shock’ was reported to the governor by an officer who had been helping nurses with substance misuse treatment medication on a house block. 

She said: ‘Whilst standing on the middle landing by the stairwell, prisoner Mr [redacted] came up behind me without me knowing and started to inappropriately rub the centre of my middle back in an up and down motion. I immediately moved away in terror and shock as I felt this very inappropriate.’ 

The officer told the man ‘he should not be doing this, it was inappropriate behaviour, and he should not be touching me’, according to the log.

He responded by stating that he wanted the officer to move, to which she replied by saying he should have asked, the report states.  

A catalogue of violent incidents at Belmarsh has been released by the Ministry of Justice (Picture: In Pictures Ltd/Corbis via Getty Images)

One of the most serious assaults took place in August while an offender was being served lunch in his cell after making threats to staff all morning.  

As he left the cell, he was seen clenching his fists in a fighting stance by an officer who feared he was about to be attacked and restrained him.

The key worker sustained serious bites to his right arm, left thumb and right side of his face. He was seen by a nurse, given first aid and ‘sent home to attend A&E’, according to the report. 

The level of violence facing staff was illustrated again in October when a female officer was assaulted by an inmate who attacked by ‘grabbing her hair, pulling it out, and punching her in the face several times’. 

A colleague was also punched as the man was restrained and placed on a segregation unit at the jail in Thamesmead.

There were also several incidents of staff being spat at or having liquid, including toilet matter, thrown at them.

In September 2022, an officer described how a prisoner ‘scooped water out of his toilet which he threw at me, hitting me on the right side of my body, with some splashing on my face’.  The assailant is said to have ‘laughed’ and to have asked, ‘how does my piss taste?’.  

Prisoners need more support to ensure they are rehabilitated, commentators say (Picture: File image by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

In total, there are 66 assaults on officers and staff in the database of more than 200 acts of violence which was released by the MoJ after the appeal to the information watchdog. Many others relate to fights and attacks among inmates, including potentially life-threatening incidents. 

The MoJ maintains that violent prisoners can face being moved to higher security conditions and further criminal prosecutions, and it has recently increased the penalty for assaulting prison officers to up two years.  

A Prison Service spokesperson said: ‘To protect our brave prison officers, we are equipping them with synthetic pepper spray, police-style restraints and body-worn cameras, helping to de-escalate violent situations and providing evidence to prosecute those who attack our hardworking staff. 

‘Our £125 million investment in prison security is also tackling the drugs and weapons that fuel prison violence to keep staff safe.’ 

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One key worker was ‘strangled and assaulted’ while another reacted with ‘terror’ to being inappropriately touched.