An escaped prisoner keeps the British police on tenterhooks for days. He is caught, but the case shines a spotlight on dilapidated prisons.
After days of manhunt, British police have arrested a terror suspect who escaped from a London prison. Officials were able to seize the 21-year-old shortly before 11 a.m. (local time) in the London district of Chiswick, as the Metropolitan Police announced. He was therefore riding a bicycle along a canal when he was caught by plainclothes officers.
The arrest ends a large-scale manhunt lasting several days, in which 150 officers were involved and during which security checks at ports and airports were significantly tightened. The man escaped from Wandsworth Prison in southwest London on Wednesday morning by clinging to the underside of a truck.
“Enormous number of clues”
The case caused a stir and highlighted the ailing prison system in Great Britain. Many prisons are considered overcrowded and outdated. Some of the buildings date from the 19th century. Added to this are staff shortages, high levels of sickness and high fluctuation.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was satisfied with the success of the manhunt. The conservative politician said on the sidelines of the G20 summit in India that he would like to thank the police and the public who helped with an “enormous number of tips”.
For the British Prime Minister, the debate about the underfunded prison system comes at an inopportune time. The government in London has been criticized for days because of crumbling school buildings. More than 100 schools in England had to be completely or partially closed at the beginning of the school year because aerated concrete was used in them decades ago and is now giving way. The conservative magazine “Spectator” entitled its latest issue “Broken Britain”.
Government announces investigations
The government had announced detailed investigations into the case of the escaped prisoner. It was surprising how the man managed to escape unnoticed and why he wasn’t placed in a prison with a higher security level from the start. Wandsworth, which often serves as a transit station, only has the second highest level.
He is accused of planting dummy bombs on a military base and collecting information that could be useful to terrorists or enemy states. He denied the allegations. A trial was scheduled for November.
Overcrowding in English prisons
The conditions in English prisons have long been denounced by human rights organizations and the state inspectorate. According to the World Prison Brief website, England’s 118 prisons are operating at 111 percent of their official capacity, housing more than 87,000 prisoners. For comparison: In Germany the occupancy rate is 77.6 percent.
The writer Oscar Wilde, who was persecuted for his homosexuality, was imprisoned in Wandsworth Prison, which opened in 1851. Recently, the German ex-tennis star Boris Becker also spent some time in the prison.
The British government’s prison commissioner, Charlie Taylor, called for the prison to be closed. Many of the prisoners shared a cell that was originally intended for only one prisoner. “When you find a prison like Wandsworth it really needs to be closed,” the Chief Inspector of Prisons told British news channel Sky News. However, this is currently not possible due to prison overload.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
