Private prison in spotlight
9 Mar 05
Staff taken off duties at Scotland's only private jail
Three staff at Kilmarnock Prison have been removed from duty after an undercover investigation by the BBC.
A BBC reporter uncovered a catalogue of neglect and claims of officers ignoring heroin abuse at Scotland's only private jail.
He found evidence that warders failed to carry out suicide checks in the prison, where six inmates have killed themselves in the last five years.
A programme based on the investigation is to be broadcast tonight (9 pm, BBC1 Scotland).
In a statement to the BBC, Premier Custodial Services, which has run the jail since 1999, said that an investigation is underway and a number of staff at the "safe, well-run" jail had been removed from duties.