An illuminating insight into one of Britain’s most well known prisons

hen Bafta-nominated filmmaker Chris Atkins entered into a dodgy fundraising scheme for one of his documentary films, the scam ended in a nightmare. He was arrested, tried and sentenced to five years in Wandsworth Prison. It would have depressed, defeated and possibly destroyed many people. But Atkins turned his experience into something that became revelatory and could yet have a positive effect on government policy.

He kept a prison diary. The diary was published and its paperback version recently went into the bestsellers list. It is an astonishing read, both shocking and bleakly humorous, giving us one of the most illuminating insights ever into what daily life is like in one of our best-known prisons.

Take this entry when he describes how he became a “Listener”, someone who after some training by the Samaritans, engages with fellow prisoners to listen to their problems.