A SHOCK report has lifted the lid on life at a maximum security jail near York.

The report on Full Sutton prison revealed:

• A bragging prisoner led a riot in segregation cells after magistrates gave him a lenient sentence for assaulting a prison officer.

• Seven terrorist inmates were given an apology after being locked in segregation for 11 weeks because of fears they planned to launch an escape bid The report says an “escape map” found in the prison library was probably planted there.

• Inmates at Full Sutton expect “gold-plated” standards of healthcare – and probably get better care than law-abiding members of the community outside.

The annual report by the prison’s watchdog body, the Independent Monitoring Board, said five inmates tried to destroy their cells in the segregation unit last November.

It said: “The ringleader had just been charged in the local magistrates court with assaulting a member of the prison staff and was given a relatively lenient concurrent sentence.

“The prisoner obviously felt that he was invulnerable to a genuinely effective deterrent punishment and bragged as such; this appeared to encourage him in his rampage and incitement of other prisoners to damage their cells.”

The report suggested magistrates should be “educated” by being invited on an official visit to the prison.

The report also claimed Full Sutton’s prisoners had “come to expect a particularly gold-plated standard of healthcare”.

It said healthcare staff strived to maintain that standard despite added complications such as mental health issues.

It said: “In many cases therefore, the standard of healthcare at Full Sutton is probably above that which an individual could expect in the community.”

The report also said there had been an “unsatisfactory and probably unreasonable” delay in investigating a foiled escape plot by terrorist prisoners last March, because the matter was handed over to Special Branch at a time when there were “other serious terrorist incidents in the public domain”.

Seven prisoners were sent to the segregation unit with loss of privileges but there was no clear cut evidence and nobody was charged with any offence.

The most likely explanation was that the escape map was a plant intended to implicate the seven prisoners, and they had been given an apology, said the report.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: “We thank the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP Full Sutton for their report which will be fully considered by Ministers. We will respond to the board in due course.”

• Do you work at Full Sutton and have a story? Phone 01904 567131 in confidence or email mike.laycock@thepress.co.uk