CAT/OP/GBR/ROSP/1 the Subcommittee is concerned about the long lockdowns in segregation units and about reports that persons in such units get an average of 30 minutes per day outside of the cell. 88. The Subcommittee found a particularly dramatic case of alleged excessive use of force and prolonged segregation at Her Majesty’s Prison Risley. On that occasion, the Subcommittee interviewed a person who had fresh wounds in his head, a broken nose and bruises on his body. He alleged that he had been severely beaten by five prison guards the night before. The person also alleged that he suffered from diagnosed mental health problems. However, it appeared from the records that no medical help had been provided that night; no incident report had been made, including on the use of force; and none of the body cameras from the five guards had been working that night. The records also confirmed that on the day of the Subcommittee’s visit, the detainee had already spent 80 days in the segregation cell. The Subcommittee communicated this case to the authorities in compliance with the principle of due diligence. 89. Subsequently, the Ministry of Justice kept the Subcommittee informed of the ongoing steps taken by the relevant authorities, including the investigation by Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service and the investigation by the Prison and Probation Ombudsman. The Subcommittee was also invited to review video material of the incident (CCTV) at the Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, which a member of the Subcommittee did on 10 December 2019. 90. On the basis of the results of the investigations and the video material reviewed, the Subcommittee is unable to corroborate the detainee’s version of events, and considers the matter adequately investigated. The Subcommittee notes and commends the proactive approach and seriousness of the authorities regarding this matter, including keeping the Subcommittee informed of the ongoing investigations as they progressed. 91. Similar records checked by the Subcommittee indicated that several persons had spent over two months in the segregation unit at Her Majesty’s Prison Risley. While there is a formal requirement of a regular review every two weeks, several interviewed prisoners were of the view that the review was merely a box-ticking exercise.51 92. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party ensure that segregation of prisoners is a last resort; that its use is for as short a time as possible, and never longer than 15 consecutive days; and that segregated prisoners are provided with a purposeful activity and meaningful human contact each day, in line with the Nelson Mandela Rules. 2. Violence and excessive use of force 93. The Subcommittee is also seriously concerned at the reports made by the national preventive mechanism of the United Kingdom of increasing levels of violence and of use of force and restraint in a number of prisons.52 Both Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons and the Independent Monitoring Board noted that low staffing levels, inexperienced staff, the use of illicit substances, mental health issues, poor prison conditions and not enough time outside of the cells appear to have contributed to the increase.53 51 52 53 16 See Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons, Report on an Unannounced Inspection of HMP Whitemoor by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons: 13–23 March 2017; and Independent Monitoring Boards, Annual Report of the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP Whitemoor for the Reporting Year 1 June 2017 to 31 May 2018 (October 2018), sect. 6.2. See also, for example, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons, Report on an Unannounced Inspection of HMP Bedford by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons: 28 August–6 September 2018; and Independent Monitoring Boards, Annual Report of the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP Bedford for the Reporting Year 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018 (17 October 2018), sect. 7.1. The submission of the national preventive mechanism of the United Kingdom, on preventing illtreatment in detention in the United Kingdom, to the sixty-sixth session of the Committee against Torture, p. 2. Available at https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/ treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=INT%2fCAT%2fINP%2fGBR%2f34430&Lang=en. Ibid., p. 34.