Jailed women ‘too scruffy’ for video calls after hair salon closes

INMATES at a women’s prison refused to take part in video calls because their hair was unkempt after the closure of the jail’s hair and beauty salon.

Prisoners at HMP Bronzefield in Surrey, the largest women’s prison in Europe, complained to staff after its salon shut down due to coronavirus restrictions.

Many refused to take part in video chats with friends and relatives – known as Purple Visits

and introduced when traditional visits were halted by the pandemic – because they were unhappy with their appearance.

According to a report into the prison by inspectors from the Independent Monitoring Board, the salon has since only reopened briefly, allowing a handful of its 550 inmates to get appointments.

The inspectors said that reopening did ‘much to improve self-esteem’.

Inmates include Shauna Hoare, the killer of 16-year-old Bristol student Becky Watts in 2015, and Roshonara Choudhry, who stabbed Labour MP Stephen Timms in 2010.

Newer inmates include Insulate Britain protesters.