Prison Holds LGBT Sports Day With Drag Performance

HMP Moorland held an LGBT sports day on Monday that featured a drag performance for inmates. The prison houses over 1,000 men, and about 58 percent are serving sentences for sexual offenses. Prison management invited both sex offenders and LGBT prisoners to participate. Colored plastic sheets matching the LGBT flag were hung in a walkway outside the segregation unit.

One witness said the performer stood about and did not do much.

A prison service spokesman stated that no taxpayer money was spent on the event. Government inspectors gave the facility a positive assessment after a 2023 visit. They noted declining violence and self-harm incidents and good staff-prisoner relationships.

Acheson, a former prison governor, said he could not imagine what possessed prison bosses to stage the event. He added that senior officials attempted to keep the event hidden from staff. Nick Timothy, the Shadow Justice Secretary, said victims would be outraged and called for the person who booked the performer to be sacked.

He stated that prisons should focus on punishment, deterrence, and rehabilitation.