But a pilot project that drastically reduced suicides in US jails - promised last year by Home Secretary Jack Straw - has not been introduced.

Why not give it a go? It is sure as hell what we have now is not working

Sir David Ramsbotham

"America had the same situation we are going through here and they solved it through a very imaginative piece of work," he said.

"Why reinvent the wheel if that has worked somewhere else? Why not give it a go? It is sure as hell what we have now is not working."

Health regime

US prisons keep a mental health nurse on duty around the clock and officers are trained to spot mental health problems.

Prisoners are also recruited to act as observers, reporting problems among their fellow inmates.

"Give it a go rather than sitting by. All the present arrangements are not working," said Sir David.

He also questioned plans to merge his post with that of the Chief Inspector of Probation after his departure next year.

Officers at Wormwood Scrubs are facing charges

Despite supporting the idea in principle, he said it was too soon and a rigorous and independent inspection service for prisons had to be maintained.

He said "doubters" in the Home Office and Prisons Service were the source of the proposals.

"The people doing this do not really understand," Sir David said.

"They certainly have not asked to come on an inspection with me."

Officers criticised

The attitude of prison officers towards inmates and the role of the Prison Officers Association in defending them also came under fire in the report.

The report covered a year that had seen "some of the worst examples" of unacceptable behaviour, said Sir David, such as officers facing criminal assault charges at Wormwood Scrubs.

"It was based on a totally unacceptable attitude to the treatment of and conditions for prisoners, that has no place in any civilised society let alone a modern prison service," he said.

By failing to condemn such behaviour the POA "gives the impression that it is in favour of it", he added.