1990 Strangeways Prison riot courts, hangings, castrations and that between eleven and twenty prisoners had been killed. On 3 April the front page of the "Daily Mirror" read "Prison Mob 'Hang Cop' ", and claimed a former policeman imprisoned at Strangeways for rape had been killed by prisoners. The newspaper was forced to publish a retraction admitting that "reliable police sources" had been mistaken, when it transpired that the man was actually alive and imprisoned in HM Prison Leeds. Following the end of the rooftop protest the newspapers condemned the prisoners, with "The Daily Telegraph" describing the riot as "a degrading public spectacle", and
HM Prison Ashwell report of Ashwell cited concerns about prisoners' vulnerability, race relations and the quality of work and training at the prison. In the same year an inmate at the prison escaped from guards while receiving treatment for tuberculosis at the Leicester Royal Infirmary. The prisoner was recaptured days later In July 2008 a new £6m wing with an additional 64 cells was opened at Ashwell Prison. The new wing increased the overall capacity of the prison to 619 inmates. A major riot at Ashwell Prison began on 11 April 2009. During the riot, a three-mile police perimeter was put in place,