Photographs released by the Scottish Prison Service have shown the scale of damage inside HMP and Young Offenders Institution Polmont after a riot described as one of the worst in Scotland's prisons in a decade. Around 30 inmates were involved in mass disorder at the Falkirk institution on Saturday 26 September, and several prison officers sustained minor injuries.

The images, published on 30 October, show smashed tables and chairs, damaged ceiling panels, a broken glass window and rubbish strewn across a hall. Staff struggled to maintain control during the incident, and guards from other prisons were drafted in to help restore order. Parts of the prison were locked down for several hours before the disturbance was brought under control.

Overcrowding behind the tension

Scottish Prison Service chief executive Linda Pollock linked the disorder to "bubbling tension" inside an increasingly overcrowded prison estate, describing the system as at the brink. Reports of the incident said inmates were protesting after being locked up early and seeing activities cancelled at short notice, amid staff shortages, and that some were armed with makeshift weapons.

A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson confirmed that a protest took place at Polmont and said it was resolved safely and securely by staff. Police Scotland are understood to be investigating the riot. The episode has renewed debate about capacity and staffing in Scotland's prisons, with prison leaders warning that rising numbers and stretched resources are making volatile incidents harder to prevent and harder to contain.