The Strangeways prison riot, the longest in British penal history, began on 1 April 1990 when about 300 inmates gathered in the chapel. A prisoner, Paul Taylor, interrupted a sermon, sparking a takeover that spread throughout the prison. The 25-day protest against squalid conditions resulted in two deaths and hundreds of injuries.
Television images of inmates on the roof, holding banners, were broadcast worldwide. Authorities cut electricity, sprayed cold water, and played loud pop music to wear down the protesters, but the inmates held out for almost a month, hurling missiles and abuse. The last five men surrendered on 25 April 1990, carried from the roof in a cherry picker.
Strangeways, built for 970 inmates, housed over 1,600 at the time, making it one of Europe's most overcrowded prisons. Three inmates were routinely held in cells designed for one, and dangerous prisoners spent up to 23 hours a day in Victorian cells without proper sanitation. One ex-inmate said they felt 'something had to be done'.
Paul Taylor, the last man standing, had almost completed a sentence for chequebook fraud when he started what he intended as a peaceful 24-hour sitdown protest. It turned violent, with inmates assaulting officers, taking keys, unlocking cells, and moving to the roof. They tore off slates, pelted authorities, and set fire to the chapel and gymnasium.
During the riot, alleged sex offenders on C and E wings were severely beaten. Rumours of torture and murder circulated, but only one prisoner, Derek White, died from injuries received in the mutiny. Prison officer Walter Scott died of a heart attack. Taylor, now 50, was sentenced to a further 10 years for prison mutiny.
Taylor believes the riot led to prison reform and more humane treatment of inmates. He expressed regret over the beatings, saying they detracted from the protest's root cause: conditions and violence towards prisoners. Alan Lord, convicted of murder, spent much of the siege on the roof negotiating with authorities.
