At least 93 prison staff have had an “inappropriate relationship” with an inmate since 2018, figures have revealed.
The majority of the staff were females who engaged with male offenders, a freedom of information request by the Express found.
Commenting on the figures which have risen every year, Tory MP Philip Davies said: “This is a very serious issue which can compromise the safety of people inside and outside of prison – including the victims of the prisoners.
“The prisoners are very manipulative people and this is something which must be stamped out. The prison service and the courts must take the most robust action when cases are uncovered.”
Eighteen staff were disciplined for an inappropriate relationship in 2022/23 – irrespective of whether they were sexual or romantic – compared to 11 in 2017/18.
There were at least 58 dismissals in the five-year period, alongside 11 written warnings.
Mick Pimblett, assistant general secretary of the Union for Prison, Correctional and Secure Psychiatric Workers, said: “The vast majority of prison staff are hardworking, conscientious and honest.
“However, this Union acknowledges that there are a small number of corrupt staff working in our Prisons who undermine others’ work by being corrupt.
“Their corruption compromises their colleagues, the security of the establishment and themselves and makes them susceptible to blackmail and criminal activity.”
Prison nurse Elyse Hibbs was jailed in 2022 for having a relationship with an inmate at a Welsh jail.
Meanwhile prison officer Emily Watson was jailed for having a sexual relationship with drug dealer John McGee who was serving eight years at HMP Berwyn near Wrexham for causing death by dangerous driving after knocking and killing a man while he was trying to escape from police.
Ayshea Gunn was a probationary officer at HMP Berwyn when she began a relationship with armed robber Khuram Razaq.
Mr Pimblett said: “There may be reasons for the increase in corrupt staff such as poor recruitment and lack of training, but at the end of day these staff must recognise what is right and what is wrong. It is very difficult to have any sympathy for them.
“It is right and correct that these corrupt staff who put themselves into such situations are weeded out and placed before the courts and it is right that dismissal from employment should be the default position for someone found to be corrupt.”
The data showed 64 female prison staff had an inappropriate relationship with male prisoners. There were significantly fewer instances where both staff and the inmate were female.
There were at least 12 instances where both the prisoner and prison staff member were males.
In some instances, the member of staff was male and the inmate was female but the figure was too low it could not be provided for data protection reasons.
The Ministry of Justice said: “The overwhelming majority of prison service staff are hardworking and honest and their professionalism and expertise should not be called into question because of the illegal actions of the small number who aren’t.
“We are doing more than ever to catch the minority who break the rules including bolstering our Counter-Corruption Unit with 140 new staff and strengthening our vetting processes to root out misconduct.”
