G4S to pay £9.9m after failure of Birmingham prison contract

The Government has ended the outsourced contract with G4S to run Birmingham Prison.

G4S will pay £9.9m to cover the additional cost of the “step-in” action the Government was forced to take last year.

Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service took over running the prison last August after a series of issues. This was initially meant to be for six months, but after an extension was agreed in February it has now been decided to end the G4S agreement.

Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said: “I am confident that HMP Birmingham has made good progress since the ‘step-in’ but to build on this, the prison needs stability and continuity.

“That is why we have mutually agreed with G4S that the public sector is better placed to drive the long-term improvements required and the contract will end.”

Stewart emphasised that this move was a response to the specific circumstances faced by HMP Birmingham and the Urgent Notification received by the Secretary of State from HM Chief Inspector of Prisons.

He added: “We need to be absolutely clear that we still believe in a mixed economy of providers with some of our private prisons among the best performing in the country.”