Wormwood Scrubs has been named as one of the worst prisons in England and Wales, according to a new report.

It is one of only three to receive a Rating 1 in the Prison Annual Performance Ratings report, meaning that its “overall performance is of serious concern”.

The report was compiled by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), which is responsible for agreeing and publishing annual performance ratings for each prison in England and Wales, and also gives Feltham Young Offenders’ Institute a poor rating.

It has led Shadow Justice Minister and Hammersmith MP Andy Slaughter to call on Secretary of State for Justice Michael Gove to ensure urgent improvements are made.

The publication of the report comes hot on the heels of a damning 2014-15 Annual Report by Chief Inspector of Prisons Nick Hardwick, released earlier this month (July 14).

In that, Mr Hardwick said: “Overcrowding was sometimes exacerbated by extremely poor environments and squalid conditions. At Wormwood Scrubs, staff urged me to look at the cells. ‘I wouldn’t keep a dog in there’, one told me.”

It also goes on to describe the environment inmates were living in: “Conditions in many cells were unacceptably poor. Many were filthy, covered in graffiti, some of which was offensive, and furniture was broken or missing. Toilets were filthy and inadequately screened. Windows were broken. We found cockroaches in cells on C wing.”

The NOMS report on Wormwood Scrubs is released on the same day as another prison report, published by the Ministry of Justice, which reveals that violence had increased in prisons, with murders, serious assaults and self-harm incidents all rising significantly.

The same NOMS report gave Feltham a Rating 2, meaning that it’s “overall performance is of concern”.

Mr Slaughter, who visited Wormwood Scrubs last week alongside Chair of the Prison Reform Trust Juliet Lyons, told getwestlondon: “Staff at Wormwood Scrubs are working hard but being let down by the Government. Michael Gove must get a grip and act quickly to fix the growing prison crisis, both in west London and nationally.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “Some of our prisons are not performing as well as they should. As the Justice Secretary said a fortnight ago, our prison estate is out-of-date, overcrowded and in far too many cases insanitary and inadequate.

“In the short term, the Prison Service works closely with any prison which is falling short to help them take urgent action to improve.

“In the longer term, we are developing plans to replace old, dilapidated prisons with new buildings, and to improve rehabilitation and education so that prisoners can lead more productive and more moral lives, both inside and on release.”