Prisoners paid £636k compo in five years after claiming they were beaten by guards
LAGS were paid £636,733 compensation in five years after claiming they were beaten by guards.
Taxpayers’ money went to 86 criminals who sued over alleged assaults.
The payouts, revealed under freedom of information laws, provoked fury from prison officers.
One told The Sun: “Prison guards have such a tough job to do and to suggest they are the bad guys is just insulting.”
The figures do not include the 14 privately-run prisons in England and Wales.
Mick Pimblett, of the Prison Officers Association, described English jails as the “most dangerous workplace in Western Europe”.
He added: “Despite the Government claiming that they are increasing the number of prison officers, the number that they are recruiting does not come any where near the number that are leaving.
“It is a vicious circle.
“Prisoners must be locked up for longer with little or no purposeful activity.
“When they become frustrated, they become violent.
“Further PPE, alongside improved staffing levels, needs to be issued to prison officers so that they can protect themselves and prisoners.”
The Prison Service said it successfully defends two-thirds of claims.