Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison (a) officers and (b) other staff have been (i) investigated, (ii) arrested and (iii) charged in relation to (A) drug smuggling and (B) corruption at HMP Five Wells in the last 18 months.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

There is no place for any form of corruption or unacceptable behaviour in the Prison Service. Such behaviour is contrary to our core values and will not be tolerated. The Ministry of Justice’s Counter Corruption Unit and Tackling Unacceptable Behaviour Unit are working to ensure that professional standards of behaviour are maintained.

In relation to the various items of information requested, it is necessary to consider whether providing information in relation to a small number of cases could lead to the identification of individuals, in a way that would constitute a breach of our statutory obligations under data protection legislation. As we believe that the release of this information would risk such identification, it is not possible to provide the figures requested.