UPDATE: Inmates from Bedford Prison transferred following riot

Private contractor trucks waited outside the compound early on Monday morning, flanked by police vehicles, including a dog unit.

Several police vans marked as carrying chemicals including “irritants”, “flammable liquid” and “compressed gas” also lined up outside the jail walls.

Richard Fuller, MP for Bedford and Kempston, said he thought there was ‘no justification for these actions’.

He said: “We’ve got to look at if current levels of staffing are sufficient or if they contributed to the event.

“This applies for HMP Bedford and prisons across the country.

“There was mobile phone coverage of the incident itself and also given reports on how easy it is to get drugs into the prison, people would be horrified if they saw how easy it was getting contraband in there.”

Mr Fuller said he will be seeking a meeting with the governor of Bedford Prison and will be meeting with Minister for Prisons Andrew Selous over the ‘riot’.