According to the MailOnline, Mr Fairhurst told the Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee: "'We recruited a person before Christmas who got sent back to their establishment from the training college because they were not capable of locking or unlocking cell doors, they were incapable of controlling restraint training and they were incapable of conducting a rub down search.
UK prisons run by guards interviewed over Zoom who 'don't know how to lock cell doors' British prisons are hiring "unsuitable" recruits who can't unlock cell doors, a top-ranking guard has warned.
In damning new comments, Mark Fairhurst, national chairman of the Prison Officers' Association trade union, described the current hiring process as "simply not fit for purpose" - and said some people being put forward for new roles cannot carry out basic responsibilities expected of them.
This included one member of staff who was allegedly sent back to training college because it was found they were physically not able to lock and unlock cell doors.
Responding to Mr Fairhurst's comments, a spokesperson for the Prison Service said: "Our prison officers undergo robust assessments and an extended period of training before they work in prisons.
