Commissioner of Prisons Edward Dyer last night admitted that one prison officer had been attacked by an inmate this week when he issued a response to poor security claims last night.

He said the female prison officer had been released from King Edward VII Memorial Hospital following treatment after being struck with a telephone on Monday.

The revelation came just hours after he flatly denied that any prison staff had been attacked by inmates this year.

The Royal Gazette reported yesterday claims by Shadow Home Affairs Minister Michael Dunkley that faulty fire, personal security and perimeter alarms could turn Westgate prison into the site of a potential catastrophe.

He said prison staff were "working in fear'' and claimed that two prison officers had been assaulted in the last week.

And he said faulty perimeter alarms meant it would be easy for prisoners to escape.

Mr. Dyer refuted the claims in yesterday's story, as well as the allegations that prison officers had been attacked.

But last night, a statement issued by Government Information Services said the Commissioner wished to "set the record straight'' concerning the story in The Royal Gazette.

The statement read: "Mr. Dyer confirmed that the fire alarm system throughout Westgate Correctional Facility was in working condition, except at the Hobby Shop, which was damaged in a recent fire.

"The Hobby Shop, he said, was not in the same areas as the inmate housing and administration areas and technicians had experienced some difficulty with its alarm system. The problem, he said, was being addressed.'' And the statement also said that each prison officer was equipped with a personal security system in the form of a duress pager system. A check of that system yesterday, he said, indicated that the system was working.

However, he said if the system was not working, it was up to the individual officer to report it to the authorities immediately.

He acknowledged there had been continuing problems with the perimeter security, but said razor ribbon wire had been placed on all of the outside walls in order to provide additional security.

"The facility is secure,'' he said.

And despite at first telling The Royal Gazette that if there had been attacks on prison officers, he would have heard about it, he admitted yesterday that a woman officer had been injured in an assault.

The statement continued: "He (Mr. Dyer) also indicated that further enquiries regarding an assault had revealed that an inmate had struck a female prison officer with a telephone on Monday.'' The inmate accused of attacking the officer will now be placed before the Treatment of Offenders Board.

And Labour and Home Affairs Permanent Secretary Robert Horton expressed surprise at Mr. Dunkley's suggestion that a February date for the Board of Inquiry into conditions at Bermuda's prisons showed a "lack of sincerity on behalf of Government''.

He said Home Affairs Minister Paula Cox had acted swiftly to the prison officers' concerns and had offered an inquiry in November.