Christmas is famous for being a time of comfort and joy, but there won’t be much of either if you spend it in prison.
While the festive period is marked by joyful celebrations in the outside world, behind bars the pain of being separated from family and friends adds tension to what is often already a volatile environment, insiders say.
A shortage of guards on the big day means that visits are generally prohibited, forcing prisoners and a skeleton staff to make the most of an otherwise grim situation.
Vanessa Frake-Harris, former governor of security and operations at Wormwood Scrubs prison in London, said Christmas was “a difficult time for everyone involved with the prison”.
“Each prison will try to make the most of it,” he told MailOnline. ‘We used to have a Christmas budget for decorations but I fear that is probably not the case anymore and most prisons will make do with what they have.
A Christmas tree at HMP Portland, a resettlement prison in Dorset with capacity for 530 prisoners
Vanessa Frake-Harris, former governor of security and operations at Wormwood Scrubs prison in London, said Christmas was “a difficult time for everyone involved with the prison”.
‘There will be a Christmas dinner that will cater for all diets.
“Obviously there is no legal alcohol, although at this time of year, especially in the male sector, prisoners try to make their own liquor. They are very dangerous things that can leave you blind and, in some cases, kill you.
‘All prisons will attempt to implement some form of regime, although this will be difficult due to overcrowding and staff shortages. Very often the staff organizes contests, billiard competitions, etc. on the wing.’
Frake-Harris, author of The Governor, said having to spend the festive period behind bars could take a heavy emotional toll.
“It can be a very lonely place for prisoners as there are no visitors on Christmas Day or Boxing Day as these staff will be used on the wing,” he said.
‘Cases of prisoners’ self-harm may increase during this period. All interested parties try to get through the Christmas period with as few problems or incidents as possible.
‘Various religious services will be held and religious leaders will play a role in helping prisoners cope with this period of detention.
“In Holloway on Christmas Eve we used to have the Salvation Army come into the grounds and play Christmas carols – it provided a distraction for the women who were imprisoned at the time.”
Among the prisoners spending their first Christmas behind bars are troublemakers John Honey (left) and David Wilkinson.
Honey was notoriously photographed looting several stores, including an O2 store, while wearing an England shirt.
Among the offenders who spent their first Christmas behind bars were rioters John Honey, 25, and David Wilkinson, 48, who attacked a group of three Romanian men in a BMW during the race riots in Hull.
Honey looted a Lush store, an O2 store and a Shoezone while wearing an English shirt before attempting to beat up Romanians along with Wilkinson, who also attacked police guarding a hotel housing asylum seekers and attempted to set fire to a container with wheels.
They admitted violent disorder, racially aggravated criminal damage and other charges, with Honey sentenced to 56 months in prison and Wilkinson to six years, although they will likely only serve half of their sentences behind bars.
Reformed gangster Stephen Gillen, 53, served 18 years behind bars with the likes of Charles Bronson and previously revealed what it was like to spend the festive period locked up.
“There’s kind of a lull when it comes to the holiday season,” he said.
‘That same day they give you a Christmas dinner. They give you some chicken or turkey, pigs in blankets and roast potatoes. They also invite you to eat Christmas pudding.
Reformed gangster Stephen Gillen, 53, described eating a Christmas dinner consisting of turkey, pigs in blankets and roast potatoes when he was locked up.
Frake-Harris fears that budget cuts have forced prisons to skimp on decorations. Pictured: Christmas trees at HMP Portland in Dorset
A menu obtained from HMP Leicester revealed a lunch menu with four options: a halal roast and stuffed turkey, a vegan Quorn steak in onion gravy, roast beef and Yorkshire pudding or a homemade potato and leek pie.
Dessert was fruit pudding and vanilla sauce or fresh fruit.
For dinner, the first option was a pasta salad with mayonnaise and halal BBQ chicken, the second was a Quiche Lorraine salad and the final was a vegan sausage roll salad.