If I can't appeal to people's morality then I'll appeal to their self-interest

Martin Narey

It was Sir David who first drew the government's attention to complaints of brutality at Wormwood Scrubs by prison officers.

There have since been several successful prosecutions.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "There is a culture, an attitude, to this which has been in the prison service for far too long that you do not take firm action - you tend to turn a blind eye.

"But once management starts to turn a blind eye, management has had it."

Mr Ramsbotham has criticised prison culture

"There must be absolutely clear understanding that this sort of treatment of prisoners will not be tolerated and it must be supported by a system that warns a person that if they go on behaving like this they will be out."

Mr Narey said there was "no evidence at all" for Sir David's accusations.

"He knows that I have made it absolutely plain that anyone who lays a hand on a prisoner will leave this service.

"I have not just relied on convictions in court. Quite recently we sacked senior staff at Northallerton and Portland because they've laid hands on prisoners."

Hard line on violence

Mr Narey said that prison officers convicted for assaults on inmates at Wormwood Scrubs had been sacked and others still faced disciplinary investigations.

"There was a culture of violence at Wormwood Scrubs that was completely and utterly unacceptable and I am determined to drive the residue of it out," Mr Narey told Today.

"All my staff know that if they lay a hand on a prisoner then they will be out of a job.

"If I can't appeal to people's morality then I'll appeal to their self-interest."