HM Prison Belmarsh

HMP Belmarsh

Aerial view of HM Prison Belmarsh (centre). To the left is HMP Isis, to the right is HMP Thameside
Location	Western Way, Thamesmead, London, SE28 0EB
Security class	Adult Male/Category A
Capacity	792
Population	675 (as of August 2021)
Opened	1991; 33 years ago (1991)
Managed by	HM Prison Services
Governor	Jenny Louis
Website	Belmarsh at justice.gov.uk

His Majesty's Prison Belmarsh is a Category A men's prison in Thamesmead, southeast London, England. The prison is used for high-profile cases, particularly those concerning national security. Within the grounds is the High Security Unit (HSU), which consists of 48 single cells. It is run by His Majesty's Prison Service. The prison has been called "Britain's Guantanamo Bay" due to the long-term detention of terrorism suspects without charge.^[1] Belmarsh is also notoriously known as "Hellmarsh" as it is considered the toughest prison in the UK and due to the high number of physical and authority abuses reported by both the prison's inmates (including former politician and convicted criminal Jeffrey Archer, who coined the name "Hellmarsh" and who was imprisoned for four years at Belmarsh for the crime of perjury) and by human rights activists.^[2]