HMP Leeds making 'insufficient progress' to tackle suicide rates and drug use - inspectorate report

An inspection report has ruled that “insufficient progress” is being made to tackle suicide rates and drug use at HMP Leeds.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons, visited HMP Leeds in March to follow up on “critical safety concerns” raised in 2025, and said leaders had taken previous concerns “seriously” but efforts to improve were hindered by “severe overcrowding, high rates of drug use, self-inflicted deaths and the lack of time out of cell for many men.”

Published yesterday (Tuesday, May 5), the report said a new governor took up post six months before the latest review and had “brought drive and determination through her proactive leadership style.”

The Category B prison, which houses almost 1,000 inmates and receives nearly 600 new arrivals a month, was found to have the highest number of self-inflicted deaths in all adult male prisons in the UK, and that too many prisoners developed a substance misuse problem while at Leeds.

“HMPPS had failed to make any meaningful progress in addressing the chronic overcrowding,” HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, said. “The reduction of 20 spaces in the operational capacity was far too small to have a positive impact on a population of over 1,000.

“There was little evidence that use of illicit drugs had reduced, and another three men had taken their own lives in the last eight months. Some small improvements had been made to the length of the core day, and there were now better efforts to engage men in meaningful activity. However, many men still did not receive enough time out of cell.

“Escalation of concerns between the prison, healthcare providers and the National Health Service about the needs of acutely mentally unwell men was much better. However, there were too few spaces in mental health hospitals, which meant that these men still faced long delays in being transferred and getting the right care.”

HM Prison Service said it was investing £40 million to fund a range of security enhancements, and that all new prison staff received suicide and self-harm prevention and mental health awareness training, to increase skills in supporting prisoners in distress.

Despite this, the report found that there had been three more self-inflicted deaths at HMP Leeds since the inspection in July 2025, and three serious self-harm incidents where the prisoner had to be resuscitated. Preliminary investigations suggested “some significant weaknesses in support persisted.”

In the six months to February 2026, the overall rate of recorded self-harm was similar to the same period before the 2025 inspection but was higher than in other reception prisons. However, the number of individuals involved (157) was relatively low considering the huge number of admissions (3,413).

The inspection also found that Illicit drugs remained easily available. Over the last six months, the positive mandatory drug testing (MDT) rate remained high at 21.7 per cent, which was very similar to the rate found at the 2025 inspection (20.3 per cent).

“Leaders told us that some men were being paid to get recalled and bring drugs into the jail,” inspectors added. “Security at the main gate had weaknesses that needed addressing.

“The security team was working well with other departments to develop intelligence and disrupt groups of prisoners from organising and distributing drugs. Around two-thirds of suspicion drug test results were positive, which showed that the quality of intelligence being submitted by staff remained reasonably good.

“The ISFL unit had developed well. It offered a range of support, including talks from former prisoners and addiction support group meetings. However, some prisoners told us that illicit drug use continued to be a problem on the unit, which made it harder for them to maintain their abstinence.”

The report did however find that some aspects had improved since the July 2025 inspection, notably that concerns were better shared between the prison, healthcare providers and the NHS concerning “acutely mentally unwell men.”

Support for prisoners returning to the community was also said to be improving, and that while nearly 200 men were still remanded and recalled each month, the concern that they were not getting enough practical support had been addressed by the prison redeploying resources and planning a residential unit to improve their access to agencies.

The response was described as “impressive and better than we usually see.” The report said the governor had recruited an effective head of reducing reoffending, who had been in post for about three months and was already driving improvement. Staff-prisoner relationships and cleanliness were also said to have improved.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: “We welcome the inspectors’ recognition of improvements in the support for new arrivals.

“However, the prison is still operating under immense pressure. That is why we are already taking urgent action to tackle the spread of drugs by investing over £40 million in new prison security nationally and reduce self-harm by strengthening support for prisoners who may be at risk.”