1990 Strangeways Prison riot administrative offices on the lower floor and the chapel on the upper floor. Remand prisoners were held in wings G, H, I and K of a separate prison, linked to the main prison through workshops and a kitchen. The Certified Normal Accommodation Figure for Strangeways, the number of prisoners the prison was designed to hold, was 970. The population of the prison had increased in the months before the riot, from 1,417 in January 1990 to a peak of 1,658 on 27 March. On 1 April, the prison contained 1,647 prisoners – about 925 convicted adult prisoners, 500 remand prisoners
1990 Strangeways Prison riot firm on behalf of humanity". On 9 April, "The Sun" newspaper called for an end to the riot, saying "Jail riot scum must be crushed", and former prisoner John McVicar called for the retaking of the prison by force at the earliest possible opportunity. By 10 April more prisoners had surrendered, leaving thirteen inside the prison. Three more prisoners surrendered the following day, one of whom, Barry Morton, had taken part in the rooftop protest on 26 March. On 16 April, another three prisoners surrendered when they became ill with food poisoning. Local businesses were calling for an end to