POLICE have interviewed a prison governor after complaints from protesters fighting controversial Home Office expansion plans.

Letters were sent to the Chief Constable of Kent, Mike Fuller, and the Home Office about Dave Atkinson and his senior management staff at Blantyre House Prison, Goudhurst, near Tunbridge Wells.

After they were interviewed by Insp Robert Chitham, from west Kent police, no further action is to be taken.

Mr Atkinson said: “The inspector decided there appeared to be the need for some bridge-building.”

He added although he was resisting any public meetings, he would be happy to discuss the plans with a member of the protest group.

Tony Barr, head of offender management at the prison, said: “The complaint was not substantiated and no further action is going to be taken.

“What has to be made clear is it is not the establishment’s decision to expand or not expand. It is the Home Office’s, but that fact seems to have been missed.”

The campaigners are fighting a further 60-bed block. Gaynor Crowder, co-ordinator of Communities Against Prison Expansion Blantyre Group, said: “We feel bullied and intimidated.

“We’ve been told by Mr Atkinson and his deputy, Kim Coulstock, that we won’t win. People who work at the prison have been told if they oppose this plan the prison could close, which means they will lose their jobs.”

She said she felt intimidated when Mr Coulstock advised her not to oppose the plan, as she “had no hope of winning against the Home Office”.

Mr Atkinson strongly denied the allegations against him and his staff, adding: “The police found nothing to substantiate the claims.”

The group, which has joined forces with protesters fighting expansion plans at Rochester Prison, claims the Home Office is “riding roughshod” over communities by using permitted development rights, which over-ride the usual planning route.

Miss Crowder’s partner, former soldier Brenden Hill, who has seen service in 40 countries, including Afghanistan, said: “I came here to have a normal life and I find the feelings of people who live by the rules of society are being put second to people who have chosen to opt out of society.”

At the very least, the group wants an environmental assessment to gauge the impact of the development, which is in an environmentally-sensitive area.

Miss Crowder said: “The Government has targeted 30 prisons across the UK to expand. It is a knee-jerk reaction to a crisis of their own making.”

Mr Coulstock was unavailable for comment.