MP Blasts Plans for Wormwood Scrubs Governor's House
Proposals would see high-risk offenders housed in building
The Governor's House at 160 Du Cane Road. Picture: Google Streetview
Andy Slaughter, the MP for Hammersmith, has written to the Minister of Justice, Dominic Raab, over plans to use Governor’s House on Du Cane Road as accommodation for high risk former prisoners including terrorists and sex offenders.
A proposal is being considered to turn the building, which is situated about 35 metres away from the main entrance to HMP Wormwood Scrubs and is where staff enter and exit, into Approved Premises. Approved Premises house some of the highest risk offenders in the country. This would mean it would be used to house offenders, who may present a high risk of potential harm after they have been released from custody. An Approved Premises, also known as a probation hostel, serves to provide the opportunity for intensive supervision of certain categories of released inmates.
The MP points out to the Minister that the National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) visited the Governor’s House just over a year ago to assess the building’s suitability to be used as an Approved Premises and identified 18 potential vulnerabilities. Mr Slaughter says many of these were very serious and therefore he was prompted to write his letter.
He points out that staff need to pass by the location which could put them at risk of intimidation, harassment and blackmail from individuals within the Approved Premises.
The MP says, “Prison staff have the right to feel safe inside and outside their place of work, especially when their job entails dealing with dangerous and vulnerable individuals.”
He also indicates that it is not just staff who will be placed at risk saying that newly released prisoners could be approached by those in Approved Premises just a few metres away undermining their chance of rehabilitation.
The proposed location of the premises is also a short distance from the visitor’s centre where many women and children will be arriving and congregating outside as they come to visit their family member inside the prison. This could put these women and children in real danger, and they would not be aware that the nearby building could house terrorists and sex offenders who are not confined to a cell.
Mr Slaughter also highlights the increased risk of drones being used to bring drugs into the prison. The proximity of the Governor’s House to the southern perimeter wall of the prison would be an ideal location to control the smuggling of drugs and other contraband. The top floor of the building has a view over the wall and into the prison grounds.
He concludes by urging the Minister to reconsider the plans for the building say that the security assessment shows that the risks of the proposal are obvious and cannot be mitigated.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
June 6, 2022