CALLS for urgent improvements at HMP Bullingdon have been backed by Bicester's MP.

Victoria Prentis, who sits on the House of Commons Justice Committee, has joined with others concerned about high levels of violence and gang problems highlighted in the latest report on the jail.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons published a report yesterday that said ongoing staff shortages need to be urgently addressed.

The watchdog found the prison near Bicester ‘was not safe enough’.

It said HMP Bullingdon continues to struggle to maintain staffing levels despite running close to capacity with more than 1,100 inmates.

The report came after an unannounced inspection in April and May, of which Chief Inspector of Prisons Peter Clarke said: “The key message from this inspection was the urgent need for increased staffing.

“It was clear to us that this was a strategic problem that was undermining everything the prison was trying to do.”

Inspectors also found a third of prisoners felt unsafe in HMP Bullingdon due to violence.

There has been a ‘significant’ rise in self-harm incidents and three inmates have committed suicide since 2015.

The report also found ‘clear evidence of a significant drug and gang problem,’ with regular finds of drugs, mobile phones and weapons.

Mrs Prentis said: "While it is clear that staffing is the main challenge at the moment, I was pleased to read about good practice, particularly in relation to peer workers and the support mentoring unit.

"Improvements do need to be made and I am keen to help the governor in any way I can going forward.

"Prison reform remains a key priority for the Government.

"Hopefully through my work on the Commons Justice Committee we will be able to make progress in the right direction during this Parliamentary session."

Mrs Prentis added that she would be visiting the prison before the end of the year to meet with the governor.

Figures obtained by the Bicester Advertiser in July found large numbers of illicit items had been smuggled into the prison in 2016, with 270 items of contraband confiscated.

The report said it was not a dissimilar picture to what was found during the last inspection in 2015.

Last year staff at Bullingdon walked out in a long-running dispute over safety fears, amid claims the prison system was in meltdown.

Despite the jail's problems, Mr Clarke said there was hope for the future as prison staff try to combat violence, drugs and gangs.

He said: “Many, not least the governor, were doing their best to affect improvement and proving capable in doing so.

“This suggested there was cause for continued optimism.”

HM Prison and Probation Service chief executive, Michael Spurr, said additional prison officers were being drafted in to help at Bullingdon from other prisons.

Independent Monitoring Board chairman at HMP Bullingdon Paul Miller, who leads a group of volunteers who regularly visit and inspect the prison service there, said the high levels of violence had affected recruitment.

Mr Miller said these were ‘deep-seated problems’ but the prison has been working to tackle them at an early stage, with schemes aimed at minimising related bullying and debt between prisoners being introduced.

This has included changing the process of handing out shopping to inmates, by delivering items to cells rather than in public which enabled sales between inmates, encouraging debt and intimidation.

The report follows research from national charity the Howard League for Penal Reform, which said punishing bad behaviour at Bullingdon cost taxpayers about £60,000 last year.

The charity claimed this could pay for three extra members of staff.

Figures showed 583 extra days in prison were dished out to the 1,104 inmates in 2016 for breaking prison rules –with housing a prisoner for each extra day costing about £100.

This number was up from 571 additional days for prisoners in 2015, and the charity has called for changes to the 'counter-productive way of regaining control'.

Howard League Penal Reform chief executive Frances Crook said: "More people than ever before are losing their lives to suicide, and violence and self-injury are at record levels [nationally across prisons].

"The adjudications system has become a monster that is making these problems worse.

"There are more constructive ways to deal with misbehaviour than simply locking up people for longer, which puts even more pressure on the system.

"Bold but sensible action to reduce the prison population would save lives and prevent more people being swept into deeper currents of crime, violence and despair."

The charity has called for the process of punishing prisoners with additional days to be scrapped.

A prison service spokesman said: "The prison discipline system upholds justice in prisons, ensures actions have consequences and empowers Governors to make the right judgements for their circumstances and their prisons

"The vast majority of offenders leave prison without serving a single additional day.

"But the public and our hardworking staff rightly expect that those prisoners who choose to break the rules, making life more difficult for staff and other offenders or putting their safety at risk, should face the consequences."