We will pick ourselves up and make the necessary improvements

STRANGEWAYS GOVERNOR’S VOW

- JOHN SCHEERHOUT

THE under-fire governor of Strangeways jail has vowed to 'make the necessary improvements' after a government watchdog publicly criticised the prison.

Earlier this month a scathing report by the Chief Inspector of Prisons exposed the 'catastrophic' level of illicit drugs available inside the prison, formally HMP Manchester, known as Strangeways.

As police launched a new operation to halt the supply of drugs and organised crime behind bars, the prison's governor Robert Knight has defended the jail and insisted 'we will... make the necessary improvements.

Mr Knight, who has been governor at the high security category A prison for the last five years, told the Manchester Evening News he didn't want to comment on whether the supply of drugs was 'catastrophic' but he added: "I would say staff morale has been dented. Nobody wants to be told they are doing a bad job, especially a job they are doing in difficult circumstances."