Controversial firm gets £400M contract - Mitie tasked with transporting prisoners around Scotland
A prisoner escort contract worth more than £400million has been handed to a firm which has been criticised for lax security and alleged racism.
Contractor GEOAmey will be replaced next year as the firm tasked with transporting prisoners around Scotland after a string of high-profile blunders.
But the new firm – Mitie – has been at the centre of controversies including a Home Office probe into allegedly racist WhatsApp messages sent by its staff.
Last week inspectors warned that guards at Britain’s newest prison which is managed by Mitie - HMP Millsike in East Yorkshire – were repeatedly failing to close gates and doors.
Scottish Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: ‘Given the eye-watering amount of money on the line, taxpayers will expect the contractor to securely transport criminals and keep the public safe.
‘After the catalogue of blunders, public confidence is at rock bottom.
‘SNP ministers must prove they’ve learned the lessons and deliver real value for money for Scotland’s taxpayers.’
The Mitie award comes after GEOAmey managing director David Jones apologised in 2024 for failings in the transportation of prisoners, meaning some had missed hospital appointments and funerals, with the former chief inspector of prisons accusing the company of breaching the human rights of inmates.
Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Liam Kerr warned that following a 'catalogue of blunders, public confidence is at rock bottom'
Mitie managed HMP Millsike, in Yorkshire, where guards were found to be repeatedly failing to close gates and doors
Mitie has been handed the contract to provide the service, taking over on January 27 next year.
GEOAmey did not bid for the new contract, which will run until April 2035 at a cost of £415million.
Last week the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) at HMP Millsike wrote to prisons minister Lord Timpson to raise concerns over the ‘safety and security’ of the site.
During visits, the IMB said its members noted ‘inconsistent gate security’ at the Category C jail, with ‘doors and gates being left open’.
It added that inspectors now only visit the prison in pairs due to the unsafe environment on the wings, including high levels of violence.
The watchdog said the issues painted ‘a deeply concerning picture’ just 10 months after the £400million prison opened in March 2025.
Other concerns the IMB raised include ‘some prisoners spending up to 23 hours per day in their cell’ and prisoner on prisoner violence and high levels of self-harm.
Back in 2022, a Home Office investigation was launched into claims racist WhatsApp messages were sent by immigration staff working for Mitie.
The messages allegedly sent by Mitie staff remarked on Syrian refugees and Diane Abbott, who was a Labour MP but is now independent.
At the time, Mitie said the staff concerned had been suspended and that there was ‘no place for racism, bullying, or discrimination’ in its business.
According to figures from 2022, the firm, founded in 1987, employs 77,500 people who work in hospitals, schools, factories, office blocks and prisons across the country providing services including cleaning, guarding, fixing, plumbing and mowing grass.
The company will control a fleet of 133 vehicles tasked with transporting prisoners to and from court, medical and other appointments, with vans fitted with real-time trackers, live-stream CCTV cameras and duress alarms, while staff will wear body-worn cameras.
The vans will also boast ‘sensory internal lighting’ designed to reduce stress.
A spokesman for GEOAmey said: ‘GEOAmey made the very difficult decision not to participate in the Justice Partners Escorting and Court Custody Service procurement process, we therefore did not submit a bid to continue providing this service into the Scottish market.’
Scottish Prison Service chief executive Teresa Medhurst said: ‘It is important that, working together, we deliver a prisoner escort contract that meets the needs of those in our care, our justice and health partners, and Scotland as a whole, while also ensuring best value for the public.
‘I am confident that this contract will do that by building on the recommendations made by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons in Scotland and the Public Audit Committee, and having listened to the voices of those with lived experience of the service, and learning the lessons of past experience.’
Justice Secretary Angela Constance said: ‘Court custody services and prisoner escorting are integral to the effective operation of the whole criminal justice system, and I am grateful to the hundreds of frontline prisoner custody officers who play their part in that every day.’
Mitie said it was ‘proud to be working with the Scottish Prison Service, the Scottish Government and justice partners, to deliver a prisoner escorting service built on the highest standards of safety, dignity, security, and professionalism’. On the row over security at HMP Millsike, Mitie said it is ‘important to note that the IMB itself has stated that the claims in its letter have not been through its formal verification or fact‑checking process’.
Mitie said: ‘We are keen to work with the IMB to address its concerns and support an open and constructive dialogue.’
Commenting on the row over WhatsApp messages, Mitie said: ‘The matter was taken extremely seriously and investigated as soon as we became aware of this incident.’
It is understood the WhatsApp group was not a work channel but a ‘private group set up by a third party’ and ‘appropriate action was taken in accordance with Mitie’s disciplinary policies’.
