Prisoners’ safety at HMP High Down and the prison’s ability to rehabilitate offenders are a cause for concern as a “rising tide of violence and human misery” washes over the UK prison system, inspectors have concluded.

The damning rating – the second lowest available – comes amid the first batch of national prison annual performance ratings released since the governor of the prison on the Banstead-Sutton border was given autonomy from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

From May 2016: Wandsworth and High Down prisons first in line for changes as "biggest shake-up" of prison system is announced in Queen's Speech

Governors of HMP High Down and five other prisons were granted powers to decide how the prison budget is spent, whether to opt out of national contracts and given operational freedoms over education, the prison regime, family visits, and partnerships to provide work and rehabilitation in July 2016

Previous reports into the prison shone a light on drug-fuelled violence under-staffed rehabilitation programmes failing prisoners. Figures released by the MoJ this week showed ‘staff sickness’ between October 2016 and March of this year at double the target rate (nine per cent).

From April 2016: Independent prison inspectors discover drug-fuelled violence and rehabilitation programmes hindered by a lack of staffing at HMP High Down

From April 2017: Independent prison inspectors discover drug-fuelled violence and rehabilitation programmes hindered by a lack of staffing

Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “The rising tide of violence and human misery gets higher and higher as chronic overcrowding and staff shortages continue to drive the prison system into chaos.

“How many people have to die before action is taken?”

She added: “The new Secretary of State for Justice must now act to stop the death toll.

“The first step to recovery is to recognise that there is a problem. The second step is to do something about the problem.

“By taking bold but sensible steps to reduce the prison population, we can save lives and prevent more people being swept away into currents of crime and despair.”

From March 2016: Father fears overcrowding, poor hygiene, and lack of exercise and rehabilitation in HMP High Down is turning prisoner son into a "nutcase"

Nationwide, deaths in prison custody (316 in the 12 months to June 2017) have fallen year-on-year for the first time since 2013 – down from 322 in the previous year.

Self-harm incidents reached a record high of 40,414 in the 12 months to March 2017, up 17 per cent (5,749 incidents) from the previous year.

Assaults continued to rise to 26,643 in the 12 months to June, reaching a record high, and up 20 per cent (4,461) from the previous year.

From today: HMP Wandsworth one of worst rated prisons in UK, according to Ministry of Justice statistics

Justice Secretary David Lidington said: “Since becoming Justice Secretary last month, my top priority has been on improving safety and security in our prisons. These figures reinforce how crucial it is that we make progress as quickly as possible.

“As the Chief Inspector of Prisons rightly observed in his annual report last week, we cannot achieve successful reform and rehabilitation unless our prisons are safe and secure – and this is something I am committed to achieving.

“I have seen first-hand the challenges our dedicated and hardworking prison staff face. Boosting the frontline is critical to achieving safety and the number of prison officers we are recruiting is rising, with the number of new prison officers joining the service at its highest level since 2010.”