Staff mocked suicide and bragged about assaults as G4S failed to intervene

A CULTURE of violence, cruelty and neglect flourished unchecked at HMP Parc — which houses many prisoners from Pembrokeshire — while prison leadership appeared to look the other way, a cache of leaked messages obtained by The Herald suggests.

The explosive text and social media messages — exchanged between serving and former officers at the privately-run Bridgend jail — reveal not only a disturbing level of misconduct among some frontline staff, but a prison seemingly adrift, without effective oversight or internal accountability.

Officers joked about suicide attempts, bragged about violent assaults, and casually described provoking vulnerable inmates into confrontation — all in the open, with no reference to line managers, disciplinary consequences, or intervention from senior staff.

In one message, an officer writes: “Let’s push him to go tomorrow so we can drop him.” Another adds: “They smashed him into the shower lol,” with a colleague replying: “Good! I hope they hurt him too.”

In a separate conversation, a prisoner who had slit his wrists is described as “daft” and someone who should be sent “to a f lonnie bin.” One officer joked: “He’ll tie a bag around his neck,” followed by: “Too much paperwork,” and “Don’t have to do paperwork if you pretend not to see it.”

No fear of consequences

The messages, some of which were shared on social media last summer, contain no suggestion that those involved feared being caught or disciplined. In fact, the tone throughout is brazen, boastful and often gleeful — pointing to what campaigners now describe as a complete failure of leadership inside the prison.

“There’s no mention of superiors, no sense that anyone was trying to stop this,” one prison reform advocate told The Herald. “That tells you everything you need to know about the culture at the top.”

The Herald was the first to report on the leaked messages, which have since been seen by national media including the BBC, PA and The Independent. Their contents have now become part of an ongoing criminal investigation by South Wales Police.

Ten officers arrested — but no managers held accountable

Since September 2024, ten officers at HMP Parc have been arrested on suspicion of assault and misconduct in public office.

Four arrests were made on 20 September 2024, but all four individuals were later released without charge. In January 2025, six more officers were detained, with five bailed until the end of April and one released under investigation.

South Wales Police told The Herald: “The investigation remains ongoing, and officers are continuing to work closely with G4S.”

Despite the scale of the investigation, no senior managers or governors at the prison have been suspended, dismissed, or formally investigated. G4S has confirmed that three of the officers arrested in the first phase have been dismissed, and a fourth remains suspended pending disciplinary action.

Campaigners say that is not enough.

“If this level of abuse was happening openly among officers, leadership either knew and did nothing, or they were completely unaware of the day-to-day culture inside their own prison,” one former prison inspector said. “Either way, it’s a failure.”

Seventeen deaths in one year

The crisis at Parc has unfolded against a grim backdrop: seventeen inmates died in the prison during 2024, making it the deadliest prison in the UK that year.

In a letter to the House of Lords’ Justice and Home Affairs Committee in October, Prisons Minister James Timpson confirmed that the Ministry of Justice’s anti-corruption unit is actively investigating the facility.

In December, MPs were told that organised criminal gangs were smuggling drugs and weapons into Parc via children’s nappies and industrial drones. A riot in 2023 led to the replacement of the prison’s director by mutual agreement, with new leadership installed — but problems appear to have persisted.

“Catastrophic safeguarding failure”

In March 2025, The Herald reported on a separate police investigation into the alleged sexual assault of a vulnerable young inmate on X1 Wing. The victim, aged 18–19, was reportedly scalded with boiling water and forced to perform a sexual act at knifepoint by a known high-risk offender.

Campaigners questioned how the attacker — flagged in his OASys risk assessment as dangerous and premeditated — was allowed to share a cell with a vulnerable young prisoner.

Zack Griffiths, of the HMP Prisons Justice Group, said: “A vulnerable young person was left exposed to a violent, dangerous offender, and the consequences have been devastating. This isn’t just an individual crime — it’s a catastrophic failure of the prison system to safeguard those in its care.”

G4S response and silence from above

In a statement, a spokesperson for G4S said: “We are absolutely committed to rooting out any wrongdoing. Of the four individuals who were arrested and released without charge by South Wales Police, three have been dismissed from the company and one remains suspended pending the outcome of a disciplinary process.
Our staff are expected to treat everyone with dignity and respect and we have a zero-tolerance approach to dealing with any staff behaviour that falls short of our standards. The vast majority of our staff are hardworking and honest.”

The Prison Reform Trust declined to provide an on-the-record statement, but confirmed they have been hearing concerns from prisoners at HMP Parc and offered to speak off the record about broader issues within the prison system.

Calls grow for independent inquiry

With police investigations continuing, no charges brought, and no senior leadership held publicly accountable, calls are growing for a fully independent public inquiry into how HMP Parc has been run — and how such a corrosive environment was allowed to take hold.

“This isn’t just about a few bad officers,” one whistleblower said. “This is a broken culture, and it starts at the top.”

Parc, the largest prison in Wales, remains one of the few in the UK run by a private contractor. For families of those who died behind its walls, and for the growing number of victims still inside, answers cannot come soon enough.

A MOTORIST found slumped over his steering wheel with the engine still running has admitted being three times over the legal drink-drive limit.

Robert McMillan, 44, was spotted by another driver at around 1:00pm on September 19 while parked near St Florence. Concerned for his welfare, the member of the public called police.

“A member of the public contacted the police as they were concerned that he’d either been drinking, taking drugs, or had a medical issue,” Crown Prosecutor Sian Vaughan told Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court this week.

“The engine was running and when the member of the public asked him if he was ok, the defendant gave him a thumbs-up.”

Following his arrest, a blood sample revealed McMillan had 272 micrograms of alcohol in his system—the legal limit is 80.

This week McMillan pleaded guilty to drink-driving. In mitigation, he claimed he had consumed a pint of alcohol at a pub in Penally and, after suspecting he had a flat tyre, pulled into a layby and drank three-quarters of a bottle of wine he had in the car.

“This led to his high reading as normally he doesn’t drink alcohol like this,” said probation officer Julie Norman.

However, the Crown disputed this version of events. CCTV footage played in court captured the member of the public telling officers that McMillan had fallen out of his vehicle.

McMillan was represented by solicitor Alaw Harries, who said the offence would have serious repercussions.

“For the past 17 years, Mr McMillan has worked for a mental health charity based in Cardiff, but his role involves a significant amount of driving,” she said. “His employers are now going to have to reconsider his position. This is going to have a huge impact on both himself and others. He’s disappointed in himself and is extremely sorry.”

Magistrates disqualified McMillan from driving for 28 months and imposed a 12-month community order, requiring him to complete 100 hours of unpaid work. He must also pay a £114 court surcharge and £85 in prosecution costs.

Due to the level of alcohol in his system, McMillan is now classed as a high-risk offender and must prove he is medically fit to drive before reapplying for his licence.

A COURT has heard how a resident of Silverdale Lodge was so desperate to escape his difficult living conditions that he drove off in his van while intoxicated, following a drinking spree.

Bobby Williams, 41, was spotted in his parked vehicle by officers on the evening of March 4. When they spoke to him, he appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. Subsequent ANPR checks confirmed that he had been driving the van approximately ten minutes earlier.

A roadside breath test proved positive, and a further test at Haverfordwest police station showed he had 88 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath—more than twice the legal limit. However, Williams refused to provide the required evidential samples when requested by officers.

He appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates this week, where he pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen for analysis.

Defending, solicitor Tom Lloyd said that Williams had struggled to rebuild his life following a prison sentence for stalking his former partner.

“Things haven’t been easy for him,” said Mr Lloyd. “He used to be a self-employed builder in Newport [Glamorgan], but due to post-custodial licence conditions, he is no longer allowed to return there.

“He’s been living in Silverdale Lodge—this court is well aware of the challenges residents face there. The defendant isn’t used to that sort of lifestyle, and that night, things weren’t particularly comfortable. He went out with the intention of sleeping in his van. He just wanted to get away.”

Mr Lloyd added that since his release from custody, Williams had made significant progress with his probation requirements.

“He’s taken every step to address his behaviour and complied fully with probation. He’s doing extremely well,” he said.

Magistrates imposed a 24-month Community Order, including 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days and a 120-day alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement. Williams was also disqualified from driving for 24 months and must pay a £114 court surcharge and £85 in costs.