The true scale of Britain's prison drug crisis has been laid bare, as new figures reveal drug-related deaths have hit a record high. Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons, has demanded ministers get a grip on the escalating situation, warning that dealers are operating with impunity and that smuggling tactics have evolved to include drones capable of delivering up to 11kg of drugs at a time.
Record Death Toll
Data from the prisons ombudsman, obtained by The Independent, shows that 48 people died after taking drugs in jails in England and Wales in the year ending March 2025. This represents a staggering 2,300 per cent increase since the year ending March 2010, when just two drug-related deaths were recorded. Deaths have almost doubled year on year since 2024, as prisons struggle to contain large-scale drone deliveries that have ushered in a paradigm shift in drug availability.
Mr Taylor told The Independent that the government has been too slow to respond, allowing dealers and organised crime groups to operate with impunity. For many dealers, being sent to prison simply opens up a whole new market. He added: Unfortunately, the more drugs that are getting in, the more chance that some more risky stuff is getting in and the more chance that people tragically will lose their lives.
Urgent Measures Needed
The chief inspector called for tougher measures to get a grip on the crisis, which he says requires a national response. This includes assertively managing known dealers by segregating them from other prisoners and working with the Ministry of Defence to fend off drones. It really needs grip, and it needs cross-government grip, he said. Weapons are getting into prisons. There are some risky men locked up in some of our jails. There is a threat that if the government does not get a grip on this it is a threat to national security. Particularly if terrorist offenders are going to get their hands on weapons.
Heartbreaking Stories
Grieving families have spoken out about their loss. Beth Ludlow's father, Simon, 51, died from protonitazene toxicity – a synthetic opioid 100 times more potent than morphine – in HMP The Mount in November 2023. An inquest concluded that the entry of drugs into the prison probably contributed to his death. His daughter said: I have lost my dad because this prison cannot control drugs that are coming in. There should not be drugs in prison at all. It is just disgusting.
Landscape gardener Eddie Hands, 42, died after taking methadone while on remand in HMP Bedford in February 2024. A damning inquest found his death was contributed to by neglect and could have been prevented if staff had intervened. His mother Margaret Hands described the new figures as disgusting and called for the government to do more. David Lammy and Keir Starmer do not really understand what families are going through, she said. This is my child. I feel very angry and let down as a parent.
Systemic Failures
Mr Taylor has repeatedly warned the government over the growing risks from drugs in prisons, warning drone deliveries pose a threat to national security. His demands come after MPs warned prison drug use had reached endemic levels in a major report earlier this year, with drugs changing hands for up to 100 times their street value. The justice select committee found 11 per cent of men and 19 per cent of women said they had developed a substance misuse problem since arriving in prison. They called for urgent reforms, including wastewater testing, a sky fence system to tackle drones and investment in effective drug treatment services.
Jessica Pandian, senior policy and communications officer at Inquest, said: The record number of drug-related deaths is a predictable consequence of a government that continues to imprison more people than any other country in Western Europe. The criminalisation of drugs has pushed whole communities into prison. Inside prison, dehumanising conditions drive people to use drugs as a way of coping.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: Our thoughts remain with those who have lost loved ones as a result of substance misuse in prison. We are cutting the flow of drugs into prisons by investing over £40 million in physical security measures, and we work closely with healthcare partners to provide prisoners with the support they need to overcome their addiction.
