Prisoners exposed showing luxury prison cells on social media with TVs, consoles and contraband phones
Prisoners are flaunting cells on social media which look more like student digs than a jail – complete with TVs, games consoles and cupboards crammed with food.
A Sun investigation has unearthed dozens of videos posted online which show lags bragging about their set-up, which also include rows of trainers, laptops, and impressive speaker systems.
All of the footage appears to have been filmed on illicit mobile phones and posted online, despite handsets and internet access being prohibited across all UK prisons.
The behind-bars videos are a far cry from the bleak image many Brits associate with prison life and raises questions about the standards of security and access to contraband.
Social media users compared the cells to student digs and holiday accommodation.
One responded to a video: “Thought it was uni accom.”
Another mockingly called the prison: “HMP Butlins.”
While a third said: “That’s luxury as hell man!”
Prisoners on ‘standard’ or ‘enhanced’ incentive levels can have a TV in their cell for £1 a week but are restricted to free-to-view channels.
While some lags may also be allowed a games console in their room, these must be purchased privately and not at the public’s expense.
To ensure security, these consoles must not be able to connect to the internet and 18+ rated video games are prohibited.
But The Sun has found evidence to suggest one was playing the violent first-person shooter ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’.
The social media videos also show rooms stacked high with tuna, sauces, cereal and washing detergents making them resemble a supermarket aisle more than a prison cell.
Some of the videos are understood to have been filmed at HMP Brixton and HMP Feltham.
Vanessa Frake, former prison governor of Wormwood Scrubs said: “The broadcast of recent “Jail Tok” footage from within His Majesty’s Prison Service represents an appalling and absolute breakdown of institutional control that will deeply shock the public and veteran prison professionals alike.
“I find the images entirely unbelievable and deeply offensive to the standards of our profession. The sheer volume of unauthorized material and contraband on display raises immediate, critical questions regarding basic security protocols, the frequency of cell searches, and the enforcement of daily discipline.
“This is not a picture of rehabilitation or controlled custody; it is a picture of an institution that has surrendered its authority to the inmates.
“Most concerning is the clear evidence of an unregulated, illicit internal economy operating right under the noses of management. The overwhelming stockpile of canteen goods resembles a supermarket shelf rather than a restricted cell.
“This video is a stark wake-up call that institutional authority must be urgently restored across the estate. When inmates are permitted to run illicit shops from their cells, modify their surroundings at will, and broadcast their lawbreaking to millions on social media via smuggled smartphones, the system has lost its way.”
Andrea Coomber, Chief Executive at the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “People in prisons should not be filming videos on banned mobile phones and sharing them online. However, the ability to earn privileges encourages good behaviour, and access to equipment and extra food forms a key motivating factor for those who are locked up.
“Ultimately, many problems in prison are exacerbated by the poor regimes across our system. Week after week, we see inspection reports showing that men are spending up to 23 hours a day locked in their cells with nothing to do. Overcrowded and overstretched prisons are not able to provide the work, education and training that ought to be getting men out of their cells and into more productive pursuits, and the result is not just boredom but adverse impacts on mental health, violence and rehabilitation.”
A Prison Service spokesperson said: “Having a phone behind bars is totally unacceptable and we have requested the immediate removal of these posts while investigating how this was able to happen.
“We have invested over £40 million in physical security measures to clamp down on illicit items and those who break prison rules can face extra time behind bars.”
The videos have since been removed by the social media platforms after The Sun made the Ministry of Justice aware.
World Affairs Correspondent
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