Illicit drugs remain easily available in HMP Leeds, according to a new report from HM Inspectorate of Prisons – with some men even being paid to get recalled so they could bring drugs back inside.
Too many prisoners were also developing a substance misuse problem while actually in the prison, says the review, which is a follow-up on concerns raised last year. More than a fifth of prisoners tested positive in mandatory drug testing – higher than the previous rate – with positive results in around two thirds of suspicion drug tests.
HMP Leeds is a large category B establishment holding more than 1,000 men, with a high turnover of remand and recalled prisoners, high levels of overcrowding and around 600 new arrivals every month. The inspectorate’s 2025 review also found the highest number of self-inflicted deaths of any adult male prison. While the prison now had a new governor and had since made progress on issues such as early days support, there had been three more self-inflicted deaths since last summer, the report states.
A prison service spokesperson told the BBC that the prison was ‘still operating under immense pressure – that is why we are already taking urgent action to tackle the spread of drugs by investing over £40m in new prison security nationally and reduce self-harm by strengthening support for prisoners who may be at risk’.
Last year a report from HM Inspectorate of Prisons stated that drugs were now ‘undermining every aspect of prison life’ in England and Wales, and called on the government to take the threat ‘far more seriously’.
Analysis published last month by OHID and the Ministry of Justice found that giving prisoners OST on their last day in custody was associated with a 54 per cent reduction in the risk of a drug-related death in the four weeks following release, with around 75 per cent of prisoners serving short sentences estimated to have substance misuse issues. According to Dame Carol Black’s Independent review of drugs, ‘people with serious drug addiction’ now occupy one in three prison places overall.
HM Inspectorate of Prisons report on HMP Leeds available here