Justice Secretary was MINUTES away from calling in the Army during prison officers’ strike

THE JUSTICE SECRETARY was “minutes away” from calling in the Army today as prison officers brought the justice system to a standstill by striking.

Nearly 10,000 walked out in protest at mounting violence behind bars – forcing mayhem in the courts with the high profile Jo Cox murder trial suspended.

The Government was forced to ask a High Court judge to grant an injunction demanding officers go back to work unless they called off their “unlawful” protest.

And the Sun can reveal Justice Secretary Liz Truss was set to call in hundreds of squaddies to man jail fences and perimeters when the Prison Officers Association finally caved in and agreed to the order at 5pm.

The judge had threatened the union chiefs with imprisonment.

A humiliated Mrs Truss tonight agreed to meet the POA for crunch talks “within the next 48 hours”.

POA chair Mike Rolfe said the chaos in Britain’s jails was so bad some officers had compared work to a “tour in Iraq”.

And he begged: “Society needs to back us.”

The POA had told members to stop work in the early hours yesterday in the first nationwide action of its kind for nine years.

The Jo Cox murder trial was suspended for a day as there were no staff available to take defendant Thomas Mair to the Old Bailey.

Jail visits were cancelled and prisoners were forced to stay in their cells as prisons went into “lockdown” across the country.

Sources claimed tonight that the action could leave taxpayers with a bill for more than £5 million.

Speaking in the Commons, Mrs Truss condemned the POA.

She said the union’s stance was “unnecessary and unlawful” and “will make the situation in our prisons more dangerous”.

But Tory backbenchers joined with Labour MPs to demand action to improve working conditions for officers.

Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon refused to condemn the strike and stormed: “This is a Secretary of State in denial.

“A Secretary of State who has let down our judiciary, lost the confidence of our prison staff, and failed to take effective action in the face of a crisis – a crisis of violence in our prisons.”

Figures earlier this summer revealed the number of attacks on guards rose 43 per cent to 5,954 attacks in 2015-2016.

Just ten days ago, 200 prisoners went on the rampage at HMP Bedford.

Last month, inmate Jamal Mahmoud died after being stabbed at Pentonville jail in London.

About 60 guards gathered in Pentonville car park yesterday.

Dave Todd, the POA rep for London and the Home Counties, said: “It’s just unsafe. To me, prison officers taking this type of action speaks volumes for what’s happening inside.”

Prison officers are banned from taking strike action under the Criminal Justice Act.

The POA insisted it was “protest action”.

But granting an injunction, Mr Justice Kerr said: “A number of incidents have occurred in prisons today and the situation is very concerning indeed.”

The number of prisons officers has fallen by 10,000 since 2011.

The Sun revealed the POA was considering a nationwide walkout before Mrs Truss revealed plans to hire 2,500 more staff.

Mrs Truss signalled she would consider tougher sentences against lags who attack prison officers.

The Cabinet Minister told MPs that crimes committed in prison against staff must be treated “extremely seriously”.