John Podmore
johnpodmore.bsky.social
John Podmore
@johnpodmore.bsky.social
Former Governor HMP Belmarsh, Brixton & Swaleside. International consultant on prison corruption
ECHR: to the best of my research the UK “loses” (i.e. has a violation ruling) roughly 5-20 cases a year in past decades, but more recently this is down to nearer 1–5 cases a year. Happy to be contradicted.
October 1, 2025 at 10:52 AM
‘Nothing to see here’ say the prison service and ministers- I beg to disagree. We have a £1 billion illicit drug economy in our prisons and some people are doing very well out of it.
August 25, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Leaked report shows 10,000 gap in probation staff
August 20, 2025 at 7:17 AM
Corruption in prisons goes far beyond the sensational headlines about female officers and illicit affairs. It has seeped into the very core of the system, reaching the highest levels of leadership. This isn’t just misconduct—it’s rot at the top.
🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Bobby Cunningham was head of security at Britain’s most notorious jail.

Today, an investigation reveals he was also linked to organised crime.

Read the full story below below
Revealed: the prison chief linked to organised crime
www.thetimes.com
August 18, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Well done Governor Colin Hussey and his team- may they be left in post to continue their work
HMP/YOI Lincoln: performing better than other reception prisons.

Read the inspection report: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk?post_type=hm...

And the press notice: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk?post_type=ne...

See the healthy prison scores:
August 4, 2025 at 9:43 AM
“The prison service had failed to protect this jail from serious organised crime gang activity”
HMP Onley: destabilised by drone ingress and inadequate security.

Read the inspection report: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk?post_type=hm...

And the press notice: hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk?post_type=ne...

See the healthy prison scores:
August 4, 2025 at 9:39 AM
The PFI contract awarded in 2004 to G4S for Oakhill runs until June 2029, with an overall contract value of c £450 million over 25 years / £18m per year
c £170k per child per year. This is not about resources, overcrowding or crumbling Victorian buildings- leadership & management, pure &simple
Ofsted, CQC and @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social have issued an urgent notification to the Secretary of State for Justice about Oakhill Secure Training Centre, the second in less than four years. Read the full letter from Sir Martyn Oliver at assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/688a40...
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
July 31, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Reposted by John Podmore
BREAKING HUGE WIN! 🚨 New York just announced that phone calls will soon be FREE in New York prisons, bringing around $13 million in relief annually to incarcerated people and their families. The new policy is expected to go into effect on August 1st. Spread the news!
July 22, 2025 at 1:29 PM
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

“I have just been put on a 12-week education course, which I’m already qualified for and which I will never complete, as I move prison in three weeks”
‘Compassion and care are being stripped away’: a Just Stop Oil activist on her time in prison
Louise Lancaster reflects on the unique challenges faced by neurodivergent inmates, raising concerns for those left behind
www.theguardian.com
July 21, 2025 at 12:13 PM
“Yet many of its shocking failures are firmly within the control of leaders." www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...
Cockroach-infested prison illegally detaining inmates past release date
Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor has served an urgent notification on HMP Pentonville after an inspection found many inmates have been kept in prison after they should have been freed
www.mirror.co.uk
July 20, 2025 at 12:52 PM
“As things stand, HMPPS remains a top-heavy, inflexible, and overly bureaucratic organisation. It is failing to show the change leadership, flexibility, and innovation that is desperately required. Whether it is fit for purpose is open to question and remains to be proven.”
House of Lords - Better prisons: less crime - Justice and Home Affairs Committee
publications.parliament.uk
July 18, 2025 at 2:38 PM
“A sense of complacency and inadequate accountability arrangements throughout the prison service;
Reviewed in totality, HMPPS is inflexible, and overly bureaucratic” - excoriating stuff from the Committee but the Government is still promoting those responsible ( without due process)
Prisons need to have reducing reoffending as their core purpose, says Lords committee - Committees - UK Parliament
The Justice and Home Affairs Committee today publishes its report Better prisons: less crime. The report examines the purpose, leadership, and oversight of prisons in England and Wales, as well as loo...
committees.parliament.uk
July 18, 2025 at 2:30 PM
@hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social being attacked yet again by the Prison Governors Association is not a good look.
July 18, 2025 at 12:06 PM
“Too many of the failures outlined in this letter are firmly within the control of HMPPS leaders” - who continue to be promoted and rewarded for their failure
July 18, 2025 at 7:54 AM
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/06... There are corrupt male staff as well . And there are issues of leadership, management and culture.
What it’s like to be a female prison officer in a male prison – and how it goes wrong
It feels like every other week a woman is in court for an affair with a convict, but behind every headline is a campaign of manipulation
www.telegraph.co.uk
July 5, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Social Care in prison - a real issue and an increasing problem.
STV cover ageing prison population | Scottish Prison Service
www.sps.gov.uk
July 2, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Well done Governor Dainton - visible and leading from the front . Fingers crossed she is left there to continue her work.
Points to note:
- Prison was safe, caring and respectful
- Women engaged in work and education based on needs
- Excellent array of recreational activities
- Proactive offender management
- Strong support to maintain and rebuild family ties
- Little self-harm or violence.
July 1, 2025 at 9:07 AM
Prison with employment, education & training. Release with support, education/employment , & decent accommodation- or sub-cutaneous trackers provided by companies with poor track records of delivery but with lucrative revolving door opportunities.
July 1, 2025 at 8:31 AM
Principles 😂
That’s the problem.

They cannot see what is wrong with their wrongdoing.

Lack of a strong moral compass.
Victoria Derbyshire, "Conservative MP George Freeman appears to have asked questions in Parliament that were written by a company paying him £60,000 a year"

"He says he doesn't believe he's done anything wrong"

Hele Whateley, "We have to see what the Parliamentary commissioner decides"
June 29, 2025 at 3:49 PM