Holloway lesbian warders scandal

Seven lesbian prison officers "ruled" Holloway women's jail with intimidation and sexual bullying, it is revealed today.

They selected their targets from among fellow members of staff - particularly "straight" male officers and younger women recruits - using the staff social club as their power base.

The group, who were known as the "Magnificent Seven" by cowed colleagues, are all senior uniformed officers. The seven, and five senior prison managers who failed to control them, have been cleared out of Holloway after a top-level Prison Service investigation found:

? The seven officers competed to sexually bully new female recruits until they "turned".

? They insisted on finding new women recruits a girlfriend from among staff. "We pair at Holloway," recruits were told.

? A level of sexual harassment "that we wouldn't dream of tolerating" if it came from men.

? A "climate of contempt" for straight male colleagues.

The impact of bullying on staff was "widespread and destructive" as the group "effectively ran the prison".

The seven confined their bullying to staff, fearing they would be reported if they picked on women among the 500 inmates, the investigation found.

Concern about what was going on at the north London jail was first raised last October by the then prison governor David Lancaster. He warned the director- general of the Prison Service, Martin Narey, that a group of senior female staff had established an alternative power base at Holloway.

At noon today, shocked staff were told of the results of the investigation and the wholesale clear-out.

Mr Narey has decided the seven prime movers and two associates among the staff will never work at Holloway again. Disciplinary inquiries will begin into at least four of the lesbian staff who could face dismissal.

Five senior managers will be moved to other jobs and replaced from today. And the prison social club will be shut down from today.

Speaking exclusively to the Standard, Mr Narey told how interviews with 150 staff past and present uncovered evidence of "intrusive and offensive" sexual harassment of women and victimisation of men.

Mr Narey said today: "The report is very disturbing. It does confirm that there has been bullying and intimidation of uniformed staff by other uniformed staff.

"I have transferred nine out permanently and set in hand some disciplinary proceedings. There is clear evidence of sexual harassment, the sort of behaviour which we wouldn't dream of tolerating between men and women. I'm not tolerating it between women and women."

Asked what concerned him most about the investigation's findings, Mr Narey said: "Sexual harassment of women by other women, abuse of authority, and worryingly, a climate of contempt for male colleagues." He said the group of seven "wielded a great deal of power".

The troubled jail, where three out of four inmates are suffering from mental disorders and almost half are drug addicts, is effectively starting again from scratch today.

Mr Narey said: "I am not blaming all of the ills of Holloway on this group. Holloway has big problems with so many different things. But this behaviour has been making life much worse. People already tell me the atmosphere has lifted and I am confident we will get a much healthier prison, where staff are happier and more able to treat prisoners fairly."

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