© Tom Blewitt & Zack Griffiths – HMP Prisons Justice Group
HMP Millsike, the UK’s newest Category C prison located in East Riding of Yorkshire, is under fire after wrongly housing a teenager in an adult facility—despite regulations requiring inmates under 21 to be placed in young offender institutions. Sources close to the prison claim it took staff an entire week to realise the age of the young man in their care, raising serious questions about intake procedures and oversight.
When someone is booked into prison, their personal details—including age and date of birth—are recorded immediately during reception. So how did Mitie Care and Custody fail to realise they were holding a 19-year-old for an entire week? This delay raises serious questions about the competence of intake procedures and the safeguarding protocols in place.
This revelation comes amid escalating scrutiny of HMP Millsike, which opened just eight months ago under a £329 million contract awarded to Mitie Care & Custody by the Conservative Government in April 2024. The facility, designed to house up to 1,468 inmates, is Mitie Care & Custody’s only prison operation in the UK.
Despite its short operational history, Millsike has already been rocked by multiple scandals. Most notably, a riot reportedly erupted late last week, with inmates refusing to return to their cells across several wings. Sources confirm that cells were destroyed and a prison officer was taken hostage, prompting the deployment of the Tornado National Response Team—a specialist unit trained to handle serious prison disturbances.
The Govenment has publicly denied reports of a full-scale riot, stating that only “minor disturbances” occurred and that the prison is functioning normally. However, eyewitness accounts suggest otherwise.
Labour MP Antonia Bance addressed the situation, stating:
“I spoke to the minister in person about this. He says there was one incident in one wing on Friday. The prison service jargon is concerted ill-discipline by about 25 prisoners refusing to return to their cells, but there were no injuries sustained, although there was an incident of self harm, and all sorted by the end of the afternoon.”
Yet this official account appears to downplay the severity of the incident, especially in light of recent government embarrassments over mistaken prisoner releases.
HMP Prisons Justice Group, a vocal critic of private prison contracts, condemned the situation:
“We demand transparency and truth from both the government and Mitie Care & Custody. This prison was only opened this year and we need answers to how Mitie Care and Custody has lost full control of this prison in less than eight months.”
They added, “This incident has caused distress to families of loved ones in the prison. They deserve answers, they deserve to know their loved ones are safe.”
The controversy surrounding HMP Millsike adds fuel to the ongoing debate about the role of private companies in the UK’s prison system. With Mitie Care and Custody’s sole prison contract now mired in scandal, critics argue that prison management should be returned to direct government control to ensure accountability and public safety.
HMP Prisons Justice Group 