HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs  HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs (nicknamed "The Scrubs") is a Category B men's prison located in the White City area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, in West London, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service. The prison lies at the southern end of the ancient park of the same name. The name "Scrubs" refers to scrubland while "Wormwood" is "snake wood" in Old English; in other words the area was once known as a snake-infested woodland area. The initial steps in the winter of 1874 involved the construction of a small prison made of corrugated iron and a temporary shed to serve as a barracks for the warders. Nine specially picked prisoners, all within a year of release, completed the buildings, after which 50 more prisoners were brought to erect a second temporary prison wing. Building then began on the permanent prison, with bricks being manufactured on site. By the summer of 1875, enough bricks had been prepared to build the prison's first block and its ground floor was finished as winter began. Construction was completed in 1891. The designer was Sir Edmund Frederick Du Cane, who gave his name to the prison's road. During the Second World War, the prison was taken over by the War Department and the prisoners were evacuated to other prisons. The Security Service (MI5) was based at Wormwood Scrubs from 1939 to 1940. In 1979, IRA prisoners staged a rooftop protest over visiting rights. Sixty inmates and several prison officers were injured. In 1982, an inquiry blamed much of the difficulties on failings in prison management. The Governor, John McCarthy, had quit before the rioting. In a letter to "The Times," he had described Wormwood Scrubs as a "penal dustbin". In the 1990s, a police investigation into allegations of staff brutality resulted in the suspension of 27 prison officers and the conviction of six for assault, though three later won appeals against conviction. The Prison Service paid out more than three million pounds in out-of-court settlements with ex-prisoners who had alleged brutality. Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons delivered a damning report on the conditions, in which the prison was told to improve or close. In March 2004, a further report from the Chief inspector stated that Wormwood Scrubs had greatly improved after making fundamental changes. Three quarters of inmates at the prison had said that staff treated them with respect, which was better than the national average.