MINISTERS have ordered a crackdown on the rampant compensation culture in Britain's jails after new figures revealed that claims cost taxpayers nearly £30m last year.
The Ministry of Justice has set up an audit of personal injury claims submitted to the Prison Service in a drive to identify where payouts and legal costs can be slashed.
BLM, a specialist law firm, is carrying out the audit and will report back to the department this month.
Figures show that in the past financial year £9.3m was spent on compensation and legal costs for claims involving prisoners — a 25% increase on the year before.
When damages paid to prison office staff, legal advice and the cost of processing 13,800 payouts is included, the total bill soared to £28.8m.
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For the same period the year before, the overall figure was £21.1m of which £7.4m was for claims involving prisoners. Dominic Raab, the justice minister, said: “Of course the Prison Service must be accountable but taxpayers will be staggered to learn that the costs of litigation against it reached £29m last year.
“We have ordered an independent audit to make sure we are not being taken for a ride.
“We want public money focused on protecting the public and reforming offenders — not fuelling the compensation culture.”
Sources say the government wants to limit the ability of prisoners serving long sentences to make small claims to waste court time.
One terrorist, Abdul Miah, launched a claim for racial discrimination after he was searched by a female prison officer. He was seeking £2,000 in compensation but a judge dismissed his claim.
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In January Kevan Thakrar, a killer jailed for murdering three men with a sub-machinegun, was awarded £1,000 in compensation by a judge after prison guards damaged his CD collection.
He had been handed £815 in 2014 after damage to possessions including nasal hair clippers.
Abdulla Ahmed Ali, who is serving a minimum term of 40 years for his involvement in a so-called liquid bomb plot to bring down an aircraft, demanded £1,250 after an allegation that two boxes containing his personal possessions were opened, searched and removed in 2013. His claim was dismissed.
Noel Jennings, a burglar, tried to claim £6,000 after banging his head while play-fighting with another prisoner. He said he slipped on water caused by a leak at HMP Manchester.
His claim was dismissed and he was jailed for another 15 months for perverting the course of justice.
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Anthony Evans, a robber, attempted to pocket £6,000 after claiming he had fallen from his bunk.
He was jailed for an extra six months for fraud.