'Smell of drugs wafted along corridors': Damning report reveals scale of drug problem HMP Doncaster

The ‘infliction of unjustified violence by staff on prisoners’ was particularly ‘deeply concerning’, the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) said.

It said an informal practice of preventive strikes - where prisoners who are behaving are punched so they do not become a threat in future - was of ‘utmost concern’.

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‘Alarmingly high levels of substance use’ were also found.

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The committee inspected Doncaster, Liverpool and Wormwood Scrubs prisons as well as Feltham A and Cookham Wood young offender institutions in May last year.

It highlighted the open use of drugs at HMP Doncaster.

The report said drug taking was ‘omnipresent’ in the establishments visited, most notably in Doncaster, where the ‘smell of drugs wafted along the corridors even in plain daylight’.

A prisoner was openly spotted smoking substances previously known as legal highs and was not challenged.

Prisoners pleaded with the delegation to ask the prison management to crack down on the drug-taking at night as the smell and fumes permeated the cell vents of other prisoners, contributing to 'passive smoking'.

Referring to violence in prisons, the report said: “There is now a clear acknowledgement at the highest political level that the lack of safety in prisons and the persistently high levels of violence are unacceptable and urgently need to be tackled.

“The prison system is in deep crisis.”

Levels of violence between inmates, attacks against staff and force used against prisoners has reached ‘record highs,’ according to the report.

The report also found high numbers of prisoners with mental health conditions and a ‘considerable’ number who had self-harmed

Peter Dawson, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: “This is a deeply shaming report.

"It shows how far below the standards of a civilised country our prison system has fallen.”

The Ministry of Justice said it would not hesitate to instigate disciplinary proceedings for the inappropriate use of force.