Medomsley Detention Centre

Wednesday 12th November 2025 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Jake Richards)]

The Government would like to make a formal apology to all victims and survivors who endured abuse while they were at Medomsley Detention Centre.

Medomsley held young men sentenced or remanded by the courts in the north-east of England from the early 1960s until the late 1980s. In the years since, it has become clear that shocking and systematic abuse took place at Medomsley, which was carried out by staff who were meant to protect the young people in their care.

Today, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has published a report into what happened at Medomsley. This report makes for harrowing reading and gives an account of the physical, sexual and psychological abuse.

The PPO report was commissioned to investigate what authorities knew about the abuse, and if any action was taken at time to intervene.

The report sets out that the abuse often began when detainees arrived and for some continued after the young men had left Medomsley. It highlights that vulnerable victims were often deliberately targeted, including men from ethnic minority backgrounds who were subjected to appalling racism. Young men were hospitalised as a result of the abuse, and there were at least two tragic deaths, which were likely caused by neglect from the staff, who should have been caring for them.

The report highlights the huge impact of the abuse for those who had to endure it. This cannot be understated. Many detainees turned to self-harm, others to drink and drugs and some attempted suicide.

The report makes it clear that the staff believed that rules did not apply to them, that violence was an appropriate training method and that degrading and humiliating the young men was part of the culture at Medomsley.

In some of the worst cases, there was systematic rape and sexual assault, which involved ritual humiliation and degradation.

In regard to action taken at the time by authorities, the report details that there was a litany of failures. The complaints process was utterly flawed at Medomsley and young men were intimidated into silence. When complaints were made, they were denied or dismissed by Government officials. This means there was a complete lack of effective action in response to complaints or allegations.

In addition, much of what was happening at Medomsley was an open secret within the local community. The young men sent there were warned of the violent culture at Medomsley by lawyers, police officers, friends and family members. Some had never spent a night away from home and were subjected to terrible abuse at Medomsley.

Medomsley should have helped young men turn their lives around. Instead, it became a monstrous perversion of justice for the young men who walked through its gates.

There is nothing that will completely make amends for what happened and we cannot change the abuse which occurred at Medomsley. However, this statement, representing the Government, is to apologise.

We apologise for what victims and survivors endured, and for how long it was allowed to continue. On our own behalf and that of past Governments, we are truly sorry for what happened.

We must do everything we can to support victims and survivors of Medomsley. And in 2019 the Ministry of Justice established a settlement scheme for victims and survivors of physical and sexual abuse. To date, this has paid out over £10 million to over 2,700 individuals. Anyone who suffered abuse at Medomsley is still able to make a claim, and we encourage them to come forward.

However, victims have understandably wanted answers about how this was able to continue for so long. Today the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman report lays bare a combination of outdated societal attitudes, poor and ineffective governance, failures of leadership at every level and a complete imbalance of power. All these factors contributed to putting Medomsley, in the Ombudsman’s words, effectively beyond the law .

There are important lessons to be learnt from this, and this report also shines a light on conditions in today’s youth custody estate too.

The youth custodial estate today bears little resemblance to the one in which the abuse at Medomsley took place. The number of children in custody has significantly reduced and children are no longer detained for less serious offences. The Government’s approach is that depriving a child of their liberty must always be a last resort and where that is unavoidable, we must provide decent and dignified care, with rehabilitation at its core.

Children who are currently in youth custody are some of the most complex and vulnerable in society. Therefore, we must do our utmost to ensure they are kept safe and given the opportunity to lead positive and happy lives on release. We know that children are most likely to do that when cared for in therapeutic environments, by highly skilled staff—the opposite of what the victims of Medomsley experienced.

The Youth Custody Service today recruits and provides training for youth justice specialists in Young Offender Institutions, which accommodate many children across the estate. It is now mandatory for all staff to undertake safeguarding training, and other training packages such as the youth justice worker qualification are grounded in trauma-informed practice.

Although the estate looks different today, the recent inspection reports on Oakhill Secure Training Centre and Oasis Restore Secure School demonstrate that more must be done to keep children safe.

Today, I am announcing that we will create a youth custody safeguarding panel, which will be led by the chief social worker for children and families who will have responsibility for reviewing safeguarding arrangements in youth custody, including the complaints process. This to ensure victims voices are heard and not dismissed, like they were at Medomsley.

The panel will undertake a review of the safeguarding practices to ensure they are fit for purpose and subject to appropriate scrutiny. It will review the roles of all of those involved in caring for and supporting children, and it will report directly to the Minister for Youth Justice. I will ensure it drives forward changes to safeguarding children and commit to reporting on the panels progress in six months.

This Government are also making a number of legislative changes to protect children.

This includes implementing several recommendations from the 2022 independent inquiry into child sexual abuse and the 2025 national audit on group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse.

The response to the independent inquiry places a new statutory duty on individuals who work with children in England to report sexual abuse, or face being struck off from working with children. And those who try to deter them from doing so will face prosecution under a new criminal offence. This makes it clear that there will now be consequences for failure to act.

We will also consult on the creation of a new child protection authority to provide system leadership and ensure there is consistency in safeguarding nationally.

This Government are also bringing the landmark Hillsborough Bill through Parliament, which will place new obligations on public servants to provide evidence with candour proactively and without attempting to cover up wrongdoing. This will bring failures to light more quickly and mean those who abuse their position or fall short of the behaviour expected of those who hold public office will face criminal sanctions.

Finally, we are also introducing the Victims and Courts Bill, which will establish a new victims’ code. This will enhance the legal rights of victims to ensure they are informed, supported, and heard throughout the justice process.

Taken all together, each of these changes aims to protect children from harm, improve safeguarding, and ensure victims are supported throughout the justice process. Ultimately, they will help prevent a repeat of what happened at Medomsley.

This statement also pays tribute to the many who have campaigned tirelessly on this issue for so many years, including the hon. Members for Thirsk and Malton (Kevin Hollinrake) and for Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend (Mary Glindon), and many others.

I would like to recognise the families, who have supported their loved ones as they struggled to come to terms with what happened to them, and, finally, the men themselves. I cannot imagine what you have been through. I can only commend your courage, for being prepared to talk about your abuse, and your determination to get answers. Your fight to have your voices has been heard and will protect children in the future.

On behalf of the Government, I am truly sorry for what happened to you and that those in power failed you.

We may never truly make amends for the horrors you suffered at Medomsley. But we can, we must, and we will, take steps to prevent it from happening again.

[HCWS1050]