Justice Secretary: Prison Security Failings Need ‘Urgent Clarification’

Claims that prison workers fail to undergo an appropriate vetting process require “urgent clarification,” the justice secretary said on Wednesday, after concerns were raised about HMP Bedford. An undercover journalist who was hired to work at HMP Bedford in February reported a range of flaws in the vetting process and security checks in the prison. Paul Morgan-Bentley said the hiring agency didn’t conduct a due diligence background check, and he was able to repeatedly enter the jail without having his belongings scanned for drugs and weapons. “On two out of eight days that I worked at the prison, there was no one manning the security scanners at the front entrance when I arrived for work. This allowed me and several others to walk inside the jail and through to prisoner wings without even the most basic searches,” Mr. Morgan-Bentley said in a post on social media platform X....