Prisons hit by strikes

Officers at Doncaster's Moorland, Moorland Open and Lindholme Prisons were told to quit their posts at 7am and were picketing the gates at the sites urging people not to enter the buildings.

The strike is part of a Prison Officers' Association national action and is the first time the union has ever gone on strike. The action was expected to mean no prison visits today.

The strike follows a long-running dispute with the Prisons Service over officers' pay - a staged 2.5 per cent offer which the unions say amounts only to 1.9 per cent over the year.

Rick Midgeley, secretary of the POA's Moorland branch which has 300 members, said: "We're asking people not to enter the jail. I was informed at 6am there was a strike today.

"The governor walked in today without speaking to us.

"We expect this will mean people will not be able to visit inmates today, because there are no officers. Visitors don't come in until lunchtime.

"We have a lot of sympathy for everyone affected by this action, but the Government should have sympathy to our situation."

Kev Boswell, secretary of the 330-strong Lindholme POA branch, said they understood the governor was holding a crisis meeting this morning, and Government officials had arrived.

"Our members feel this has been a long time coming, and it was about time we took action," he said.

The action follows a ballot earlier this month where officers at Lindholme backed action up to and including a strike ballot in a 204 to 17 vote. At Moorland 85 per cent supported the call.

The Star revealed last week eight prison officers had been seriously attacked in the two jails in the last four months. Officers earn between 20,000 and 27,500.

The law does not allow prison officers to strike, which means a strike would potentially be breaking the law.

The union says it realises a strike would be illegal and it would face the threat of a court injunction, but the Government was fully aware of the depth of feeling among prison officers since its annual conference in May.

A statement from the Prisons Service said: "We regret this action, which is illegal and a breach of the Joint Industrial Relations Procedural Agreement. We will be seeking advice on our next step."

The Government says the action could result in legal action against the union.

Charles Bushell, chairman of the Prison Governors' Association, said there would be consequences for court hearings.

"There aren't going to be visits today, I don't expect.

"In most establishments prisoners aren't going to be able to get out of their cells.

"Furthermore, courts that were expecting prisoners to be produced are unlikely to have those prisoners brought to court in many cases."

Mr Bushell urged the Government to take legal action to force the warders back to work.

"We expect the Prison Service and indeed the Ministry of Justice now to take very swift action," he said.

Privately run Doncaster Prison, at Marshgate, is predominantly staffed by members of the Prison Service Union and was not hit by the dispute, although it was today unable to transfer prisoners.