| General Details | Inspections |
| Regimes | Visits and getting there |
| Work and Education | Local News |
Key Contact Details
| Name of Prison | HMP Wormwood Scrubs |
| Address: | HMP Wormwood Scrubs P.O. Box 757 Du Cane Road London W12 0AE |
| Other contact details: | |
| Web Site: | |
| Email: | |
| Main switchboard: | 020 8588 3200 |
| At Risk hotline: | |
| Fax: | 020 8588 3201 |
| Visits booking number: | 020 8588 3564, or 020 8588 3566, or 020 8588 3596 |
| Visits booking email: | wormwoodscrubs@hmps.gsi.gov.uk |
| Visits booking web site: | www.gov.uk/prison-visits |
| Visits centre number: | www.spurgeons.org/hmp-wormwood-scrubs, |
| Visits centre web site: | 020 8735 0595 |
| Type of Prison: | Male Cat B |
HMP Wormwoods Scrubs ,commonly referred to as “The Scrubs” is run by HMPS as part of the London Region. It has a capacity of 1273 and the #1 governor is Jonathan French, who has been in charge since June 2020.
HMP Wormwood Scrubs is a Victorian Category B local prison in White City, west London, built between 1874 and 1891 to a design by Sir Edmund Du Cane, with much of the original construction carried out by prisoners nearing the end of their own sentences. Known locally as “The Scrubs”, it has a long and sometimes notorious history, including the 1966 escape of KGB double agent George Blake, and today serves the London courts alongside a substance misuse stabilisation unit and a first-night centre for new arrivals.
An HM Inspectorate of Prisons inspection in June 2025 found safety had declined to “not sufficiently good” and purposeful activity had dropped to “poor”, with around 40% of prisoners locked in their cells during the working day and strict separation between units meaning many missed activities, visits and appointments. There was better news on drugs, with the positive rate in random testing falling from around 35% to 20% by January 2026, and a follow-up independent review of progress in March 2026 assessed how far the prison had come in acting on the inspection’s recommendations.
Anyone with a family member or friend at HMP Wormwood Scrubs can use the contact details above to get in touch with the prison directly for the latest information on visits and welfare support.