Overview
- A 202-page Prisons and Probation Ombudsman report finds leadership, governance and oversight failures by the Prison Service, police and Home Office enabled decades of abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre.
- Durham Constabulary investigations identified widespread physical and sexual abuse affecting more than 2,000 men aged 17 to 21 under a punitive 'short, sharp shock' regime that normalized violence and suppressed complaints.
- Catering officer Neville Husband is named the principal perpetrator and described as possibly the most prolific sex offender in British history, with 388 of 549 sexual abuse allegations naming him as the main abuser; he was convicted in 2003 and 2005 and died in 2010.
- Youth Justice Minister Jake Richards issued a public apology and announced a new Youth Custody Safeguarding Panel to strengthen protections, ensure complaints are taken seriously and elevate the voices of children in custody.
- The Ombudsman says further prosecutions are unlikely due to the age and health of remaining staff, noting previous accountability that included five former officers jailed in 2019 following Operation Seabrook.