Firms call for inquiry into Wormwood Scrubs violence

Six London criminal law firms have joined forces to call for a public inquiry into the alleged culture of violence at Wormwood Scrubs in the 1990s.

The action was led by human rights specialist firm Hickman & Rose, which submitted a report to the Home Office claiming more than 50 cases of assault at the prison.The allegations followed last week's conviction of three prison officers for their part in the assault of a prisoner in the segregation unit of Wormwood Scrubs in 1998.The Scrubs Lawyers Litigation Group also includes Birnberg Pierce, Thanki Novy Taube, Hodge Jones & Allen, Powell & Co and Bhatt Murphy - all are acting or have acted for prisoners claiming assault in the prison.The group is headed by Hickman & Rose partner Daniel Machover, who said: 'We are hoping to get a reasoned response from the Home Office, one way or another, in the next few weeks - then we will act accordingly.' He said that while there has been an admission by the prison that a culture of violence existed, not enough has been done to stop such incidents occurring again.

'The prison service believes it has learnt its lesson and put mechanisms in place to prevent future assaults,' he said.

'But this is not so.'The call for an independent inquiry also has the support of Sir David Ramsbotham and Sir Stephen Tumim - both former chief inspectors of prisons.Andrew Towler