The Clink retains HMP Brixton restaurant contract for five years

The Clink Charity has secured a new five-year contract to continue operating its restaurant at HMP Brixton after winning a competitive commercial procurement process.

The decision extends the charity’s presence at the south London prison, where it has run the restaurant for 11 years as part of a programme focused on training people in custody and reducing reoffending.

The Clink works in partnership with the Ministry of Justice, HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) and New Futures Network, providing hospitality training and employment support to serving prisoners.

The charity said the renewed contract followed a year-long process and would allow it to continue what it describes as a “pioneering” model within the prison estate.

Donna-Marie Edmonds, chief executive of The Clink Charity, said the outcome came during a challenging period for the sector.

She said: “It is no secret that 2025 has been a difficult year, not only for The Clink, but also for the wider charity sector – and indeed for the Ministry of Justice.

“What is so clear, from the 11 years The Clink at Brixton has been operational, is that it rebuilds lives, reduces reoffending, and changes perceptions as to what people in prison can achieve.”

She said the charity would continue to prioritise the work it was established to do, adding: “We take our responsibility as custodians of this pioneering and special programme very seriously, and we look now to the future by continuing the crucial work that The Clink was founded to do.”

On the renewal of the contract, Edmonds also thanked staff, trustees, funders and partners, as well as colleagues at HMP Brixton, the Ministry of Justice and HMPPS, for their support.