WHILE everyone staying at HMP Pentonville is described as a guest at his majesty’s pleasure, some are more welcome than others.

That’s because rats – always an unwelcome visitor – appear to have set up camp at the Caledonian Road prison’s kitchen, according to the independent body that inspects Pentonville.

In a statement published on its website last Wednesday, the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) at Pentonville said it had first noticed the rodents in July last year and had “consistently raised concerns about the shocking and unhygienic state of the kitchen to prison management,” but without success.

“The issue has not been dealt with despite the immediate risks to food safety,” the report stated, leading it to write to the prisons minister, Edward Argar MP, last week, complaining about “a serious dereliction of duty regarding health and safety and food hygiene” at the prison.

It described how IMB inspectors found “large numbers of rat droppings” under “numerous pieces of kitchen equipment” alongside “chewed and spat out ceiling insulation” above bubbling pots of food and workstations.

On Tuesday, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson confirmed a temporary kitchen has been put in place for a “short period” while the rat infesta­tion is addressed. It is expected to reopen in mid-May, he added.

In their statement, the IMB criticised both Gov Facilities Services Limited (GFSL), the not-for-profit company charged with managing the maintenance of the building, and Rentokill, the pest controllers contracted by GFSL at Pentonville.

It accused them of a “shocking lack of respect for those who have paid and entrusted them to perform this vital work” and said their failure to get the rat infestation under control had “endangered the health and safety of prisoners, staff and the IMB (whose statutory duty it is to regularly visit the kitchen and taste the food to monitor standards of decency) through their neglect”.

In their letter to Mr Argar, they “urged” him to “call GFSL and Rentokil to account at the highest level”.

After a deadline set by IMB for Pentonville bosses to contact the environmental health team at Islington council came and went last week, the monitoring body itself reached out to Islington requesting a visit from hygiene inspectors.

This marks the latest scandal to hit the severely overcrowded prison, after repeated reports over the years have branded the Victorian institution “unfit for purpose” while HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, last year said “ideally” it would close.

In 2020 it was put on “special measures” due to a rise in violence, while in September, the Tribune reported on how inmates would tape newspaper to the walls in a desperate attempt to keep cockroaches, rats and mice out of their cells.

When Islington health inspectors visited the prison last week, they said they took “swift action” to manage the closure of the kitchen and set up the temporary one.

She added: “We have also provided guidance on pest control methods, both the immediate steps required to eliminate the infestation as well as measures to prevent future recurrence.

“Health and safety standards are ultimately the responsibility of Pentonville Prison, and we will continue to closely monitor the situation and work with prison authorities.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Temporary kitchens have been installed at HMP Pentonville for a short period. Prisoners will still receive three meals a day as usual.”

She refused to comment on the criticism made by the IMB about management at the prison.

Rentokil did not respond to a request for comment.