The UK’s Ministry of Justice made a catastrophic decision to lease a prison contaminated with toxic radon gas, according to parliament’s spending watchdog. The 10-year lease on HMP Dartmoor, signed in 2022, is now projected to cost taxpayers over £100 million. Senior civil servants rushed into the agreement while seeking to secure prison capacity, without conducting proper safety assessments beforehand.
HMP Dartmoor, a category C facility housing numerous sex offenders, was shuttered in 2024 after radon measurements reached levels ten times higher than safe limits in certain locations. The government later acknowledged awareness of elevated radon readings detected in 2020, though some evidence suggests contamination was identified even earlier, in 2007. The closure necessitated relocating 682 inmates from the facility.
Radon is an invisible, odorless radioactive gas responsible for approximately 1,100 lung cancer deaths annually in the UK, according to health authorities. Prison and Probation Service officials failed to negotiate favorable terms and executed the lease before obtaining additional radon testing results. Officials knew the building posed serious health hazards for years before taking action.
Current financial obligations amount to roughly £4 million annually for an unusable facility, encompassing rent, property taxes, and security expenses. The government must additionally invest approximately £68 million in structural repairs to the Dartmoor site throughout the lease duration. The contract prevents termination until December 2033 at the earliest, locking the department into this costly arrangement.
The Conservative committee chair declared the MoJ’s handling represented “an absolute disgrace from top to bottom” and rejected claims that desperation for prison places justified the decision. More than 500 former inmates and prison staff have initiated legal proceedings, alleging their health was endangered. The Health and Safety Executive investigation into radon contamination remains ongoing.
