THE governor’s job at an all-women prison west of York has been axed, despite the jail being labelled “outstanding” in its latest inspection.

Instead, HMP Askham Grange has been placed under the same governorship as New Hall Prison in Wakefield – which itself was slated in its latest report, last month.

The Government says the move will help save money and better “targeting and cross-deployment of resources for women”.

But Dame Anne Owers, chief inspector of prisons, condemned the move, saying it caused her “considerable concern”.

She said: “That risks losing the specialised focus and direction that has made Askham Grange the best adult prison I have inspected.”

The changes happened in April and are revealed in the latest issue of current affairs magazine Private Eye.

The Ministry of Justice today confirmed the changes had happened.

A spokeswoman said: “Following a review by the National Offender Management Service, one governor is now responsible for all the female offenders in custody in Yorkshire.

“This is to ensure better targeting and cross-deployment of resources for women in the area and some of the efficiency savings will be re-invested to provide enhanced through the gate services.”

In her inspection of Askham Grange in March, Dame Anne praised the staff, facilities and education.

She said: “Open prisons, despite their relatively compliant population, are not always positive and supportive environments. Too often they are merely waiting rooms on the way to release.

“Askham Grange was far from that: it provided a holistic and individualised approach to managing the transition from custody back to the community. This is a credit to its staff and managers, It is also a message to the prison system about the kind of establishment and the kind of approach that most benefit prisoners, particularly women prisoners.”

New Hall received its assessment in May.

Dame Anne said the relationship between staff and prisoners was “generally poor” and said many male staff had “outdated and inappropriate” attitudes to inmates.

She said: “The task facing New Hall is huge. The wisdom of making its already difficult task more challenging by adding responsibility for this distant satellite must be open to question.”