On May 14, 2024, CEP hosted an online discussion to discuss the publication of "Screwed: Britain’s Prison Crisis and How to Escape It," by CEP Senior Advisor Ian Acheson, in conversation with CEP Advisor Liam Duffy.

Published on April 11, Screwed has been described as “pithy, provocative and justifiably angry” by Rory Stewart, the former U.K. Government minister for prisons.

Screwed is the inside story of the collapse of His Majesty’s Prison Service, told by someone who had a front-row seat to it all. Acheson went from officer to Governor in less than a decade, and during that time witnessed the uniformed organization he was proud to serve crumble into lethal disarray. Together, Acheson and Duffy explore the former’s brutal account of the politics and decisions that have left prisons in a state where rats roam and violence and intimidation are normalized.

What’s more, the most significant chapter of the book is devoted to the ongoing issue of extremism behind bars. Prisons around the world are struggling to come to grips with a growing extremist population and have thus been described as “incubators” for terrorism. In Britain alone, several plots and attacks have been linked to convicted terrorist offenders, while extremists have even conducted attacks behind prison walls. Ian Acheson, having previously led an official review into Islamist extremism in U.K. prisons, is well placed to explain and analyze the issues Western democracies face in managing their incarcerated extremists.

Book available here.