1. 7 updates

G4S loses prison contact

The firm at the centre of the Olympics security shambles has lost its contract to run a jail and failed to win any further prison contracts it was bidding for, the Ministry of Justice has said.

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Fact file: G4S prison contracts

The termination of G4S's contract to run the Wolds prison is another blow to the firm, following its failure to provide enough staff for the London Olympics:

  • The Wolds is a category C training prison in east Yorkshire
  • Holds up to 395 men
  • Run by G4S since it opened in 1992
  • Said to have "clear weaknesses" in HM Inspectorate of Prisons report in August
  • Will return to the public sector at the end of the current contract in July 2013
  • G4S shares were down 5% after the announcement
  • G4S also failed in bids to land three other prison contracts
  • However, the security firm still runs five other UK prisons

MoJ: Prison changes will save millions

The Wolds prison in East Yorkshire has been run by G4S since 1992 Credit: PA

Plans for prison reform announced today could save £450 million over the next six years, the Ministry of Justice said after private firm G4S lost its contract to run the Wolds prison.

The ongoing competition process for four prisons had "produced a compelling package of reforms for delivering cost reduction, improvements to regimes and a working prisons model in these prisons", the MoJ said.

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Prison reform chief: Privatisation an 'Olympian mistake'

The Government's decision to hand over prisons to the private sector was "a mistake of Olympic proportions", said the chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform after G4S lost one of its contracts:

The Government will seek to deflect criticism of its prison privatisation programme by excluding G4S from the next stage of the bidding process, but the principle of awarding lucrative contracts to private companies running prisons on the cheap remains unchallenged

Private firms are often much better at winning contracts than delivering the goods, but the criteria for these decisions have not been made public.

– Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform

G4S 'disappointed' by prisons decision

G4S has responded to the government's announcement that the security form has lost its contract to run Wolds prison:

We are disappointed by today's announcements.

As the leading private provider of prison management in the UK, we have 20 years of experience of running prisons for the Ministry of Justice.

Our performance across all six prisons we run has been to a high standard with every aspect of performance either meeting or exceeding the key performance indicators applied by the MoJ.

We look forward to discussing the contract award decision with the MoJ within the next few days to determine why we were unsuccessful.

– G4S statement

Justice Sec: Prison running costs 'too high'

The Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has explained a decision to move a prison security contract to the public sector:

The cost of running our prisons is too high and must be reduced.

That is why I have decided to take a new approach to how we compete prison services and reduce unit costs across the prison estate.

This is a challenge the public sector must rise to. The approach I am announcing today does not rule out further prison-by-prison competitions in the future.

– Chris Grayling MP

G4S misses out on prison contracts

G4S has lost its contract to run Wolds prison in East Yorkshire Credit: PA

Security firm G4S has failed to win any of the prison contracts it was bidding for, the Ministry of Justice said.

Competitions to run Northumberland prison and the South Yorkshire group of jails - Lindholme, Hatfield and Moorland - will move to the final stage without G4S in the running.

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