A report into East Yorkshire’s HMP Millsike has described ‘chaos’ and dangerous conditions for staff inside the prison. The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) report says the prison is struggling to retain control of prisoners and blames a lack of staff, recruitment challenges and the inexperience of some prison officers there.
The report into the first year of operation of HMP Millsike is being released at a challenging time for the UK’s prison service as the government’s early release scheme continues to prove to be controversial.
HMP Millsike is the UK’s newest prison and was meant to provide an answer to critical issues around prison capacity. But the new report, which was published on Thursday evening, makes clear that the prison is too often not a safe place to be for prisoners or staff.
The report evidenced a catalogue of errors from even before the prison was opened, with HMP Millsike staff being given insufficient training in prison environments and the opening of the state-of-the-art prison feeling rushed. “There was little evidence, in the Board’s view, that the prison was operationally ready. Unsurprisingly, the opening of the prison was, in the view of the Board, chaotic, with inexperienced staff not knowing what to do and how to work with prisoners,” the report states.
“The basic processes were not in place, which clearly impacted on the safety, security and humane treatment of prisoners and also the safety of staff. The staff attrition rate was high throughout the year at all levels.”
The investigation found that there were ongoing issues throughout the first year of its operation that upended power dynamics in the prison. It found: “The inexperience and lack of staff meant that the prison seemed to be being run by the prisoners.” The dangerous atmosphere meant prison officers at HMP Millsike were twice as likely to draw their batons compared to other prisons, the report found.
Issues around safety at HMP Millsike ring alarm bells throughout the investigation with one passage in the report stating: “It became obvious to the Board that, due to the lack of staff and their inexperience, the prison was not a safe place for prisoners and staff for nearly the whole of the first year of opening and, in fact, the Board decided to visit in pairs for their own safety. There were many occasions when members were on a wing with prisoners on association and no officers were in sight.”
HMP Millsike, is a category C prison for 1,500 prisoners and is operated by the outsourcing company Mitie. It is Britain’s newest prison but many cells are currently empty, despite the UK facing a severe prison capacity crisis. The Ministry of Justice estimates only 80% of HMP Millsike’s cells are in use – meaning hundreds of cells are essentially empty. By contrast, Hull Prison is overcrowded, with more offenders locked up there than prison cells available.
The lack of experience across the staff at HMP Millsike is underlined in the report. It states: “The Board had the opportunity before the prison opened to speak to staff and it was evident that the majority had no experience of prison work. We understand the recruitment included promised transport to work, staff facilities, comprehensive training and development, predictable scheduling and work-life balance. It became obvious that this was not the case.”
The report outlines several other serious issues for staff recruitment and retention such as the lack of a staff canteen (although one has since opened earlier this year), poor transport provision, and the prison’s rural location in East Yorkshire. Shift patterns were complex and prison officers regularly worked additional hours and were not always paid overtime, the report found.
“It was also evident that staffing levels on the wings were often low, leading the Board to have concerns about the safety of staff, prisoners and Board members. The attrition of staff throughout the year was very high, with some finding prison work was unsuitable and others saying that the working conditions were unacceptable. Several times the Board was told that officers had not had a lunch break, as they had to help serve food on another landing which also resulted in no officers on the wings.”
The report finds the level of self-harm in HMP Millsike is similar to other category C establishments. However, the prison had an unusually high number of Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) plans to keep prisoners safe. But these were not always working with investigators finding that a prisoner who was on constant watch for a number of weeks was still able to self-harm on a regular basis.
The report highlights numerous flaws in the prison’s design including hot and stuffy workshops with no air conditioning, the car park being too small for staff and visitors, and a lack of a sports hall. More seriously, the prison has too many blind-spots for officers too, further risking safety of both staff and prisoners. Investigators also shared significant concerns about the quality of food, and requests for basic toiletries not being met.
However, the report, which covers the period from April 1, 2025 to April 30, 2026, makes clear some improvements have been made in more recent months. It states a new and highly experienced interim director was appointed in February 2026 and he made an immediate impact taking the prison ‘back to basics’ and pausing the intake of new prisoners to allow this work to take place.
The investment into HMP Millsike ’s state-of-the-art facilities was welcomed by prisoners, who praised the en-suite shower facilities: “They appreciate the ‘best prison facilities’ they have ever experienced,” the report states.
Staff morale is slowly starting to improve too. But the report warns against policymakers making use of HMP Millsike’s empty cells too quickly stating: “We are concerned that, as more prisoners are transferred to HMP Millsike, there remains a shortfall of officers, with staff recruitment made difficult by the prison’s rural location and lack of public transport links. The limited regime restricts prisoners’ access to work and education, and the Board is concerned that this restricted regime may need to remain in place given the recruitment challenges.
“There is also the risk, in the Board’s view, that HMPPS may place pressure on Mitie Care & Custody to extend the regime as included in the contract, potentially jeopardising the prison’s stability. The Board hopes that any future changes will be introduced carefully and managed effectively.”
A Mitie spokesperson said: “While we value the Independent Monitoring Board’s oversight, we do not believe its description of the prison at the time it opened, as being a fair or accurate reflection of the conditions at HMP Millsike. Since the prison opened, the overriding objective of our colleagues, working in challenging circumstances, has been to ensure that those within our care are treated with decency and respect, whilst creating a safe and secure environment that supports rehabilitation.
“We welcome the recognition of the improvements made since opening. The report highlights progress in operational stability, safety, healthcare provision, reception processes and complaint handling, as well as examples of ‘excellent work’ by our prison officers. We continue to work closely with HM Prison and Probation Service, the Ministry of Justice and the Independent Monitoring Board as the prison works towards full capacity.”
Ian Carson, a former prison officer and Prison Officers’ Association area representative for Yorkshire and the North East said: “Opening a new prison with mostly inexperienced staff is a recipe for failure, the private contract can only struggle until staff gain the experience they need, the high attrition means that this is almost impossible.
“If this was a public sector prison then staff from across the service would have been given the opportunity to move to the new prison bringing in some vital expertise. The Prison Officers’ Association is fundamentally against prison privatisation, the ongoing issues at HMP Millsike on the back of other private contracts which have been returned to the public sector shows unequivocally prison privatisation is a failed concept.”
By: Paul Drury-Bradey, LDRS
