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The Government should seize back control of Birmingham Prison after a shocking BBC documentary accused the firm it running of abusing young offenders, Labour has demanded.

The Labour leadership called on Ministers to place every prison run by security firm G4S into special measures.

It follows a BBC Panorama documentary which alleged G4S staff abused children at Medway Secure Training Centre, in Rochester, which holds 76 young offenders aged 12 to 17.

The programme suggested staff had slapped a teenager several times in the head, pressed heavily on the necks of young people, used restraint techniques such as squeezing a teenager’s windpipe so he had problems breathing and used foul language to frighten and intimidate young people.

G4S has run Birmingham Prison, commonly known as Winson Green, since 2011. The Government’s decision to privatise the prison was controversial at the time and described as “disgraceful” by the Prison Officers’ Association.

The firm also runs Oakwood Prison in Woverhampton, Rye Hill Prison in Rugby, Altcourse Prison in Liverpool and Parc Prison in Bridgend, Wales.

Speaking in the House of Commons earlier this month, Justice Secretary Michael Gove said: “We must treat these allegations with the utmost seriousness.”

Birmingham Prison was praised in a report by inspectors last year.

But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Deputy Leader Tom Watson , the MP for West Bromwich East, and Shadow Justice Minister Andy Slaughter have demanded the Government go further and hold an inquiry into every prison and detention centre run by G4S.

They have submitted a motion which will be debated in the House of Commons, urging the Government “to put all G4S-run prisons, Secure Training Centres and detention centres into special measures.”

(Image: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)

And they said they were "appalled by the disturbing allegations of violence at Medway Secure Training Centre."

It would mean that the Government sets out an action plan for the prisons to follow, and holds regular inspections to ensure its instructions are carried out.

A detailed investigation would also be carried out in each prison to ensure inmates are being treated properly.

A study of Birmingham Prison last year concluded that quality of life has “significantly improved” since it first passed from the public to private sector.

It also said that after the initial transfer to G4S, the notion of public service among staff had been “rekindled”.

The National Offender Management Service conducted the three-year quality of life study following the transfer from the public sector to G4S.

The report said: "We found that the prison had undergone significant changes in a relatively short amount of time, showing signs of consistent improvement."

A Prison Rating System score, which was released separately, also gave the prison a rating of 3, the second highest rating.

Earlier this month it emerged that Birmingham Prison was overcrowded by almost a third last year.

Official government figures showed the Winson Green prison had an average population of 1,435 in 2015, which is well above the 1,093 that is classed as a “good, decent standard of accommodation.”

Last year two prisoners at HMP Birmingham recorded a rap video on a banned mobile phone and uploaded it to the internet.

In November last year an inmate scaled the Victorian building and began raining tiles at officers below, it was reported.

In July, a prisoner was released by mistake . Lewis Harwood, aged 31, had a drink at the Soho Foundry Tavern in Smethwick - before returning to the prison and asking to be let back in.

G4S director of HMP Birmingham Pete Small said: "We faced a difficult task when we took over Birmingham prison in 2012, but recent government research, inspections and prison rating scores all endorse the hard work of my team who have maintained a safe and secure environment while pushing performance upwards in a number of key areas so that we now have a stable, embedded regime at what is a very challenging prison."