A new report on Magilligan Prison has highlighted the positive work ongoing around prisoner rehabilitation and has described the progress made at the facility since it was last inspected as “immensely encouraging”.

A surprise inspection by Brendan McGuigan, Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice in Northern Ireland, and Peter Clarke, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons in England and Wales, found that improvements had been made in a number of key areas.

Notably, the Chief Inspectors praised the leadership within the prison and the positive culture that existed between staff and prisoners.

The inspectors also welcomed the innovative work undertaken to improve provision for disabled and older prisoners and improvements in relation to health care, including mental health provision.

However the Chief Inspectors were concerned by some of the inspection findings and called for further improvements to be taken forward to address a number of ongoing issues.

Mr McGuigan and Mr Clarke said: “Poorer outcomes for Catholic prisoners remain in a number of key areas and it is our view that their needs to be a greater focus on the underlying reasons for these differences. It is our view the Northern Ireland Prison Service needs expert independent support to achieve this.”

The Chief Inspectors also remained concerned that an integrated drugs and alcohol strategy still did not exist at Magilligan Prison aimed at reducing supply and addressing the needs of prisoners with substance misuse or addiction problems.