London's troubled HMP Wandsworth has been plunged into another security crisis after videos emerged showing prisoners brazenly eating smuggled fried chicken takeaways in their cells.
From Escapes to Fast Food Feasts
The category B Victorian prison, already reeling from multiple scandals, now faces fresh humiliation as inmates used illicit mobile phones to film themselves enjoying meals from popular fried chicken chain Chicken Cottage. In one since-deleted TikTok video, an inmate openly boasted about his wings and burger before panning the camera to show his cell door, demonstrating the apparent ease with which contraband enters the facility.
This latest incident comes after what inspectors described as a 'catastrophic' assessment of the south London prison, which found the institution in 'chaos' with inmates in 'greater despair' than the Chief Inspector of Prisons had ever witnessed.
A Troubled History of Security Failures
The prison's security woes reached new heights when it accidentally released two prisoners within days of each other. Algerian migrant sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif was wrongly freed on October 29, followed by fraudster William Smith on November 3.
These embarrassing releases came months after former soldier Daniel Khalife made a dramatic escape by clinging to the underside of a food delivery truck using a sling made from kitchen trousers. The prison's security was further compromised when video surfaced showing married senior prison officer Linda De Sousa Abreu having sex with an inmate in a cell last year.
Systemic Problems and Smuggling Networks
An investigation has been launched to identify both the prisoner featured in the TikTok video and those responsible for smuggling the food into the prison. Sources suggest that bribed security guards may have facilitated the delivery, while drones are increasingly being used to flood prisons with illicit items.
'These are criminals who should be stripped of any luxury. Instead, they are getting favourite meals hand-delivered,' a source told The Sun. 'Prisoners can fork out hundreds for meals which would cost a fiver normally. If prison officers are involved, it raises questions on the safety of an environment supposed to keep dangerous men locked up.'
The Ministry of Justice confirmed: 'We removed these posts immediately and are investigating. Those who break prison rules can face extra time behind bars.'
Last year's inspection revealed alarming failures in leadership 'at every level', with the prison condemned as 'dangerously overcrowded' and infested with vermin. Inspectors found it 'alarmingly easy' for prisoners to obtain contraband, with cell searches regularly uncovering phones, drugs, makeshift weapons and alcohol. The smell of cannabis was described as ubiquitous throughout the facility.
The overcrowded prison, regarded as one of the worst in the country, suffers from a shortage of experienced staff - with almost half having been in their job for less than a year. Staff absence often reached 50 percent, severely undermining attempts to make the prison run effectively.
This isn't the first time videos have emerged from inside UK prisons. In another incident, a prison officer was filmed playing a football computer game with an inmate, while in August, a prisoner at HMP Maidstone in Kent posted footage boasting about his luxurious life behind bars.
Former prison guard Lee Davies highlighted the seriousness of the situation: 'Phones are absolutely rife in jails across the country. The sinister side is that crime is carried on. Crime is orchestrated from prison cells.'
