HMP Winchester spent £8,000 on fish tank while inmates lived in ’squalid’ conditions

A prison spent almost £8,000 on a fish tank for the reception while conditions for inmates were ‘squalid’. 

The tank was installed in the induction area of HMP Winchester two years ago, in a room where prisoners only spend time when they first arrive.

Inmates told Metro how its existence was a ‘joke’ considering the crumbling buildings, rife drug use, and lack of basic resources.

They said the cost was openly discussed, and prison staff themselves had complained about it. 

In response to a Freedom of Information request, the Ministry of Justice confirmed that a fish tank had been installed in the induction area of A Wing in March 2023 at a cost of £7,890 from the local prison budget.

They did not disclose how much was spent on fish to populate it, nor how much ongoing upkeep cost. 

Speaking anonymously, a former inmate who spent six months there last year said: ‘ ‘In the induction room, all you do is you give your phone numbers for who you want to talk to on the outside, and they give you your pack for your bedding and that.

‘So you see that fish tank for 45 minutes and you never get near it again – and they spent £10,000 pounds on that.’

Inspectors questioned whether some cells were ‘fit for habitation’ (Picture: HM Chief Inspector of Prisons)

Broken windows seen during the inspection in October (Picture: HM Chief Inspector of Prisons)

The toilet in a first night cell (Picture: HM Chief Inspector of Prisons)

A view of the reception area (Picture: HM Chief Inspector of Prisons)

He claimed this cost included an alleged £3,000 to populate the tank with fish, though the prison did not reveal the cost of this.

Describing the tank as about 6ft long, 3ft wide, and 2ft deep with pretty tropical fish ‘that glow, with the blue lines and silver stripes’, he added: ‘They haven’t even got writing materials in there.

‘What a joke. I get that it’s daunting, your first time in prison, but I don’t see what a fish tank is going to do to relieve the distress you’re going through.’

Asked how he knew about the cost of the tank, he said officers told him: ‘Some of the officers – the old school officers – they say to you, “it wasn’t like this”. They say they can’t even trust their own colleagues nowadays.’

A damning report of an unannounced inspection published last month found that the prison was ‘dilapidated, neglected and filthy, with the standard of accommodation very poor’.

An urgent notification said that the ‘appalling conditions posed risks to safety and security, with some cells so mouldy they might not be ‘fit for habitation’ while a third of CCTV cameras did not work.  

‘Substantial investment was needed to fix failing infrastructure across the prison site,’ it said.

Part of the wall in the gym (Picture: HM Chief Inspector of Prisons)

Paint was seen peeling from the walls (Picture: HM Chief Inspector of Prisons)

Waste in the grounds of the prison (Picture: HM Chief Inspector of Prisons)

Former magistrate Georgia Swift, who now campaigns on prison conditions, submitted the FOI request to the Ministry of Justice.

The response said: ‘I can confirm that HMP Winchester introduced a fish tank to support its aim of providing a calm environment for prisoners newly arrived at HMP Winchester.

‘Staff at the prison maintain it, and local feedback from prisoners is that a number of them have recognised it as beneficial in the reception at the prison in question.’

Georgia told Metro she found it ‘hard to believe that a governor could morally justify such an expense’, especially when budget cuts were cited as the cause of failings at the institution. 

She added: ‘I was told in person at the prison last year by a senior member of staff that significant delays in handing out social and legal letters were down to a broken photocopier and that there was no money to replace it.

‘I am aware that many people oppose my campaign to highlight the issues within Winchester prison because they believe that prisoners should be housed in appalling conditions as part of their punishments. 

‘These may be the same people who like to know where public money is spent.’

After last month’s report was published, the head of the Howard League for Penal Reform, Andrea Coomber, said: ‘The photographs of filthy toilets, broken windows and mouldy walls tell their own story. A truly squalid, overcrowded Victorian jail – even to the point that some cells do not have electricity.’

The Ministry of Justice has been contacted for comment.

George MacGregor