© Tom Blewitt & Zack Griffiths – HMP Justice Group
HMP Millsike, the UK’s newest Category C prison located in East Riding of Yorkshire, is under fire after a vulnerable inmate suffering from autism and severe mental health problems engaged in self‑harm and refused to return to his cell. This young man’s situation is compounded by the shocking revelation that prison authorities are refusing to administer his prescribed medication — including vital treatment for a congenital heart defect he has lived with since the age of three.
By withholding essential medication, HMP Millsike is not merely neglecting its duty of care — it is actively endangering this inmate’s life. Denying treatment for a heart condition is a reckless act that could have fatal consequences. For a prisoner already struggling with complex mental health needs, this neglect amounts to systemic cruelty.
The injustice does not end there. The inmate was due to be transferred closer to his mother in Nottingham on compassionate grounds. She is battling stage four terminal throat cancer, and the move would have allowed him to be near her in her final months. That promise has been broken, leaving both mother and son in anguish.
Mitie Care and Custody, the private company responsible for managing HMP Millsike, has once again demonstrated its inability to maintain control or provide humane care. Previous riots at the prison highlighted the collapse of order under their watch, and this latest incident underscores a pattern of failure. Vulnerable inmates are left without support, staff morale is in tatters, and the institution itself teeters on the edge of chaos.
The HMP Prisons Justice Group is now demanding urgent action: Mitie Care and Custody must be stripped of its contract, and HMP Millsike brought back under direct government control. The safety of inmates, the integrity of the justice system, and the basic principles of human decency demand nothing less.
HMP Prisons Justice Group 