Sunderland prisoner attacked guards after complaining about conditions in jail

James Ratcliff, who is serving the extended term for a firearms offence, was in HMP Northumberland in December 2022 and told an officer "this place is a piece of s***". Newcastle Crown Court heard the worker thought Ratcliff was then trying to rally other inmates when he said "you shouldn't put up with it" and told him he would have to stop. Prosecutor Sam Ponniah told the court Ratcliff's response was to warn: "The first male officer up those stairs is going to get it." Mr Ponniah said the officer triggered an alarm and when more colleagues arrived Ratcliff was "bouncing up and down, fists clenched, saying 'you are going to get it'." Ratcliff then threw several punches at two officers, leaving one with a graze to the top of his nose. The 40-year-old, of no fixed address, denied assault and common assault on the basis he was acting in self defence but was convicted by a jury after a trial. The court heard he was jailed for 22-years in 2018 for a firearms conspiracy which involved shots being fired at a house in Sunderland, and his earliest expected release date is not until around 2032. Judge Stephen Earl sentenced him to 15 months for the prison attacks, which will not affect the sentence he is already serving. The judge warned Ratcliff that all convictions are a "matter of record" and added: "This may not affect what happens to you now but they do affect what happens to you in terms of the parole board when they consider this." The court heard Ratcliff has since been moved to different prisons, where he has worked and "changed".