UK restores order after worst prison uprising since 1990
Security staff carry equipment into HMP Birmingham, in Birmingham, England, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. Security firm G4S, which runs HMP Birmingham, has deployed a specialist riot squad to a prison the English city of Birmingham after disturbances by inmates spread to four wings of the facility. The disturbance began at about 9 a.m. GMT (0400 a.m. EST, 4p.m. Philippine time) Friday. The unrest comes at a time that Britain’s prisons are under intense pressure. Members of the Prison Officers Association say violence and inmate suicides are rising. (Photo by JOE GIDDENS/PA via AP)
LONDON — Security officers have restored order at a prison in the central English city of Birmingham one day after an estimated 600 inmates seized control and launched a destructive rampage.
Authorities called Friday’s 13-hour takeover of HMP Birmingham the worst prison uprising since the 1990 riot in Strangeways in Manchester, which lasted 25 days and left one prisoner dead.
No staff members were injured during the Birmingham unrest, but one prisoner remained hospitalized Saturday with a suspected broken jaw and eye socket.
Justice Minister Liz Truss says the reasons for the riot will be fully investigated, while those convicted of rioting will face longer sentences.
She said: “Violence in our prisons will not be tolerated and those responsible will face the full force of the law.”
