HMP Millsike, near York, had a 'chaotic' start, says report

Category C prison HMP Millsike, in Full Sutton, was said to lack “basic processes”, like locking doors and counting prisoners, by the prison’s Independent Monitoring Board (IMB), which published a report on Thursday (September 3).

The report said that staff at the men's prison, privately run by Mitie Care and Custody, were “in the main inexperienced, demonstrating uncertainty about the regime and processes, which impacted the safety, security and fair treatment of the prisoners”.

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In response, a spokesperson for Mitie said that the company does not believe the IMB description of HMP Millsike at the time of its opening was “fair or accurate”.

They added: “Since the prison opened, the overriding objective of our colleagues, working in challenging circumstances, has been to ensure that those within our care are treated with decency and respect, whilst creating a safe and secure environment that supports rehabilitation.”

HMP Millsike has been described as “unready, understaffed and unsafe” at the time of opening by the prison's IMB chair Rebecca Major (Image: Supplied)

IMB Millsike Chair Rebecca Major said that the Board had found HMP Millsike “unready, understaffed and unsafe” upon opening.

'Either they underestimated the task or were not sufficiently experienced to take it on'

She added: “It’s a challenge to set up a new prison and even more so for Mitie who are new to prison management.

“In our view, some of the difficulties stemmed from inadequacies in Mitie’s mobilisation team. Either they underestimated the task or were not sufficiently experienced to take it on.

“Since then we’ve started to see improvements, but underlying difficulties remain. Many of them stem from a chronic shortfall of officers.

“The site is out in the sticks, which makes both recruiting and holding on to staff difficult.”

One of the cells at HMP Millsike in Full Sutton, near Pocklington (Image: Danny Lawson/PA Wire)

When fully operational it will hold 1,468 prisoners, however at the moment it is restricted to a capacity of around 1,100, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) said.

The Press understands that more than 80 prison officers are currently progressing through an onboarding process for HMP Millsike, including nearly 70 undergoing MoJ vetting.

The report said that many of the problems first addressed “have been tackled” or are in the process of being addressed, following the appointment of a “new and experienced” Interim Director, Paul Newton, in February 2026.

Ms Major said that following the Interim Director’s arrival, a “simplified” regime was introduced to “get the basics working properly and provide predictability for prisoners”.

She said: “To do this the intake of new prisoners was paused.

“This should have continued until the prison is sufficiently staffed with experienced officers.”

'We welcome the recognition of the improvements made since opening'

A spokesperson for Mitie said that the company “welcomed” the recognition of the improvements made since the opening of the prison.

They said: “We welcome the recognition of the improvements made since opening.

“The report highlights progress in operational stability, safety, healthcare provision, reception processes and complaint handling, as well as examples of “excellent work” by our prison officers.

“We continue to work closely with HM Prison and Probation Service, the Ministry of Justice and the Independent Monitoring Board as the prison works towards full capacity.”