Officers injured as inmates run amok

MOUNTJOY JAIL, which prison bosses have likened to a pressure cooker, boiled over again yesterday as inmates ran amok and attacked staff.

The Prison Officers’ Association (POA) claimed the riot — the second in the prison in eight months — stemmed from overcrowding and poor facilities.

The POA said there were 643 inmates crammed into the jail yesterday morning, at least 100 more than the bed capacity cited by the Prison Service and almost 200 more than the capacity estimated by the POA.