ITV News cause change of all locks at Feltham's

The Prison Service has been forced to spend £250,000 on changing every lock and key in Feltham young offenders' institution after a TV news crew filmed a prison key during a media visit last week.
A pack of broadcast and print journalists was invited to the jail in west London before last Thursday's publication of Mr Justice Keith's report into the racist murder of Zahid Mubarek, who died in Feltham six years ago.

Prison officials warn reporters, photographers and camera operators that their company will be liable for the cost of a "re-lock" if they publish or broadcast images which show keys or locks.

However, ITV News is alleged to have broadcast shots of a prison key after taking part in the Feltham visit. The cost to the taxpayer of replacing the 11,000 locks and 3,200 keys at Feltham is thought to be £250,000.

A spokeswoman for the Home Office said yesterday: "Feltham young offenders' institution underwent a re-lock on Friday morning.

"I cannot comment further because of the security issues."

She refused to say how much the episode had cost the taxpayer or whether the Prison Service had asked the media not to photograph keys and locks while at the jail.

The prison's governor, Andrew Cross, said: "There was no risk to the young people being held here.

"Staff worked hard to ensure the re-lock process happened as quickly and safely as possible."

A spokeswoman for ITV News said the company was "looking into the matter" and had no comment to make.

It also emerged yesterday that a re-lock was under way in another prison after a visitor left a set of prison keys on a table in the staff canteen, which is run by inmates.

The visitor was believed to have been a member of the independent monitoring board - formerly known as the board of visitors - at an unnamed jail somewhere in England and Wales. He is since understood to have resigned.

A Prison Service spokeswoman confirmed two jails were undergoing a re-lock, but added: "These are relatively rare events which only take place when security has been sufficiently breached for it to be necessary."

Mark Leech, the editor of the Prisons Handbook, pointed out that re-locking the two prisons would cost the taxpayer around half a million pounds and called on ITV News to help foot the bill at Feltham.

"Rightly, the IMB member concerned has resigned and ITV News, for their part, should pay the cost of the re-locking in Feltham if they are indeed found to have been responsible for the security breach," he said.

"It is hardly rocket science that you do not film a prison key from which others can make a copy - let alone then transmit the image nationwide."

Chubb Custodial, a company which makes prison locks, said yesterday that copying the keys from the broadcast images would not be easy.

"It depends on who you are and what you already know about the particular locks," said Simon Teagle, a spokesman for the company. "I wouldn't say it was impossible but it's certainly difficult.

"I would have thought the Prison Service would screen all media images of keys and locks."

He added: "We supply locks to the government but I couldn't tell you which prisons they go to. They are usually fitted by their own estates people."

Mr Teagle refused to say how much new locks would cost because of the company's "confidential" contract with the Prison Service.

It's a hell of a lot less money wasted than what taxpayers do by filling the BBC Directors and Governers pockets.

It's a hell of a lot less money wasted than what taxpayers do by filling the BBC Directors and Governers pockets.

Well some of the responsibility rests with the prison authorities. Did they brief the production team on what they should and shouldn't film? Did they view material before releasing it? They should have done.