Inside our failing jails: Former prison governor IAN ACHESON reveals a system gripped by violence,...

Do you work inside Britain's failing prison service? Contact rory.tingle@mailonline.co.ukEvery morning, men and women serving on the front line of His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service pull on a cheap uniform and go to work in what's been called the most hostile work environment in Europe.

I used to walk those landings too many years ago. I progressed from officer to senior manager and then senior mandarin. I like to think I know what I'm talking about. I know this experience is causing those in power some embarrassment. Tough. But last year when the Chief Inspector of Prisons visited the place he said it was one of the 'filthiest' he had ever inspected. More than half of staff surveyed said their morale was 'low' or 'very low' and over a fifth said they had never met their line manager to discuss progress.

Staffing is an issue of course. The rate of staff attrition – those leaving the service almost faster than they can be recruited - is a serious problem with serious consequences. Nothing could more vividly illustrate the gulf between boss class luxury beliefs and the base reality of a system in turmoil.

Every time the Chief Inspector reveals a place awash with gear, the Ministry's spinners will trot out the same line, 'we have a zero tolerance approach to drugs in prison.'HMP Woodhill used to be a high security prison with a special separation unit for active terrorists I recommended the government created after a review of Islamist extremism.

Baz Hockton and convicted terrorist Brusthom Ziamani were convicted of attempting to murder a prison officer in an Islamic terrorist attack at top security HMP Whitemoor But what it means is that we have no visibility on the national scale of the problem, which is likely to be hellish and therefore convenient to ministers and officials alike.

Last year, prisoner Denny De Silva, 31, was convicted of distributing ISIS propaganda while serving a sentence for murder at HMP Frankland. He used mobile phones smuggled into jail by his sister. But above all else it requires safety for officers and prisoners. Safety is foundational to everything hopeful.

Drug use is endemic inside prisons in England and Wales, with a recent inspection at HMP Hindley revealing half of inmates were abusing illegal substances.

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