Eight Inmates Sentenced for HMP Whitemoor Mutiny

Eight inmates serving life sentences for murder or conspiracy to murder at HMP Whitemoor, a maximum-security prison near March in Cambridgeshire, staged a violent 10-hour mutiny on October 7, 2022, seizing control of a wing's spur area before being subdued by a national response team. The incident, which involved threats to staff and improvised barricades and weapons, led to additional prison time for all involved, totaling 20 years across the group, as handed down in sentencing hearings at Cambridge Crown Court culminating on February 20.

The mutiny began around noon when the prisoners refused to return to their cells following lunch. They took over the spur, a self-contained landing or corridor, and threatened prison staff who had attempted to reason with them while securing other inmates. The group sprayed oil, shower gel, and shampoo on the floor to create a slippery hazard, preventing entry, and overturned furniture to build barricades.

Negotiators were unable to de-escalate the situation, prompting the deployment of a national prison response team equipped with riot gear. By 8 p.m., the inmates had fashioned makeshift weapons from broken table legs and kettles and created...