Just in case you weren’t sure: prison officers are not allowed to have sex with inmates. Given the recent footage that has been circulating on social media, allegedly of a female officer at HMP Wandsworth, you could be forgiven for wondering. Coupled with the fact that the prisoner who was apparently filming the clip was doing so on a smartphone, while appearing to smoke, it would be fair to ask what, if anything, is actually banned in prison.

The officer in question has been arrested and charged with misconduct in public office. It’s important to say at this stage that she has not been convicted or yet stood trial. But the video nonetheless may reveal something deeply worrying about the state of our prisons in England.

There was a time, not so long ago, when the alleged actions of that prison officer would have been almost impossible. Certainly, when I joined the service in 2012, as a 22-year-old prison officer at a high-security men’s jail, that kind of thing was unheard of. Having sex with a prisoner? In a cell? During the association period? I don’t think it could have happened. A very basic part of what prison staff colloquially........

© The Guardian