Hundreds of prison officers may have to leave UK after Labour’s visa rule change

Prison Officers’ Association says change in eligibility for skilled work visas is ‘disgraceful’ and ‘pandering to Reform’

Hundreds of foreign prison officers will lose their jobs and could be forced to return to their home countries at short notice because of a change in visa rules introduced by Labour, governors and a union have warned.

More than 1,000 staff, mainly from African countries, have been sponsored by prisons across England and Wales allowing them to come to the UK on skilled worker visas.