“Justice for Sale”: Sodexo, HMP Bronzefield, and the Human Cost of Privatised Prisons

At HMP Bronzefield, Britain’s largest women’s prison, tragedy has become routine. Just weeks ago, Toni, a transgender man incarcerated at the privately run facility, took his own life. Behind the walls of a prison managed by Sodexo Limited— a French catering and facilities giant — lives are being lost, safeguarding is failing, and families are left with unanswered questions.

For Hannah Castle, Toni’s partner and herself a prison offender manager for another inmate, the fallout has been unbearable. Hannah, who struggles with severe mental health conditions and is a prolific self-harmer, has received almost no support from Sodexo or the prison. On the day Toni’s death was announced, she was given just £1.50 of phone credit — enough for barely ten minutes — and left to grieve alone.

Even more disturbing are the circumstances surrounding Toni’s death. Prison staff have admitted to Hannah that Toni, who was deemed at risk and placed on 15-minute active watch, was left unchecked for over an hour during a shift change. It was during this gap, they believe, that he used the time to hang himself.

Instead of receiving trauma-informed care, Hannah says she was told by a Sodexo-employed probation officer — with no psychological training — that her relationship with Toni was “toxic” and that they “weren’t really together” at the time of his death. Experts warn that such unqualified and insensitive statements can deepen trauma and raise serious questions about staff competency at Bronzefield.

---

A Pattern of Failure

Toni’s death is not an isolated case. In a single week, two people have died at Bronzefield, reigniting long-standing concerns about safety, neglect, and mismanagement at the prison. Campaigners argue that this is symptomatic of a wider crisis in Britain’s privatised prison system.

Sodexo, which operates Bronzefield under contract from the Ministry of Justice, has faced mounting scrutiny across the UK:

• In Scotland, the company is being prosecuted for manslaughter following the preventable death of a prisoner with asthma during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• At HMP Lowdham Grange, Sodexo recently lost its management contract after a series of suicides linked to what insiders described as “inhumane conditions.”

Despite repeated warnings, Sodexo continues to profit from contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds, even as lives are being lost under its watch.

---

“Justice Is Not a Commodity”

Critics say the problems run deeper than Sodexo. State-funded “justice charities,” tasked with supporting vulnerable prisoners, have been accused of being complicit in maintaining a broken system.

“These charities wring their hands when tragedy strikes,” says a spokesperson for the Bronzefield Action Group, “but their government funding depends on sustaining the status quo. You can’t meaningfully campaign to end cruelty when your livelihood depends on perpetuating it.”

Campaigners argue that privatised prisons prioritise profit over people — cutting costs on staffing, training, and safeguards while vulnerable prisoners pay the price.

---

A Call to Action

The Bronzefield Action Group and View CiC are calling for Sodexo’s contract to be terminated and for HMP Bronzefield to be brought back into public ownership. They want an independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Toni’s death and an overhaul of the entire system of privately managed prisons.

“Justice is not for sale,” says the campaign. “It is an essential human right. We cannot allow the Ministry of Justice to continue outsourcing safety and dignity to corporations whose primary duty is to shareholders, not people.”

For families like Toni’s, for Hannah, and for countless others affected by systemic negligence, the stakes could not be higher.