Over £200K paid out in compensation for prisoner injury claims at HMP Bedford

New data obtained by Legal Expert revealed that between 2020 and 2024, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) paid out a total of £209,210.78 for injury claims made by prisoners at HMP Bedford, with the majority being ‘prisoner-on-prisoner’ incidents.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said that the Government is “investing in prison maintenance and security, and prisoners who are violent towards staff or other prisoners will face the full consequences of their actions”.

In 2020, the MoJ forked out £29,786 for personal injury and prisoner-on-prisoner claims related to inmates at HMP Bedford.

The following year, £13,975 was paid out in compensation, as well as further £37,733 the year after and a staggering £75,500 in 2023.

In 2024, prisoner injury claim settlements cost the service another £52,218.

Of that, £33,9721 was paid for prisoner-on-prisoner injuries while £7,000 was doled out for staff-on-prisoner injuries and £11,244 was cited as for ‘other personal injury claims’ - which could include injuries from bunk beds, food contamination and asbestos.

Concerns had previously been raised about Bedford Prison when a report written in November 2023 by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor mentioned how inmates were violent and often housed in mouldy and graffiti-covered cells, with broken windows.

And a follow-up inspection found that while standards had improved in some areas, there were still some issues.

While assaults against staff had reduced, the number remained high and levels of violence between prisoners had increased in the six months before the 2024 inspection.

With Britain’s overcrowded prisons hitting record levels last year, concerns over the safety of both staff and inmates across the UK have grown.

The MoJ spokesperson added: "Our jails are overcrowded, have been neglected for too long, and our hardworking staff are over-stretched. By addressing this crisis, we can begin the work of improving prison conditions to reduce the need for compensation claims and ensure taxpayer money is spent more effectively.”

The latest prison population statistics show there are only just over 1,000 spaces left in men’s prisons.