Rushcliffe MP and Minister for "Justice" Ken Clarke has announced plans to privatise Birmingham Prison. There are already a number of privatised prisons in the UK, but this would be the first previously public sector prison to move into the private sector.

The proposal hasn't gone down well with staff. Around 250 of them walked out immediately after learning of the plans and the Prison Officer Association (POA) has threatened industrial action despite the fact that this would be illegal as prison staff are prohibited from striking under a reserve power renewed by Jack Straw in 2008.

Clarke also announced contingency plans in the event of industrial action which would see the army deployed. This is nothing new of course. A standing army is a reliable scab labour force and had previously been deployed during disputes with the Fire Brigades Union (FBU).

This poses a number of important questions for the anarchist movement. While it speaks volumes about the British labour movement that the most militant union is the one representing screws, it is obvious that if any union were to take illegal strike action, it would be a hugely important and positive development for working class militancy in this country.

Furthermore, anarchists have traditionally been very critical of the prison system, as a crucial part of the state's repressive apparatus. It is bad enough when these institutions are run by the state, but does anybody doubt that running them for profit (turning incaceration into a commodity) will make them even worse?

The flipside of this, of course, is that prison officers are in the very heart of the state's repressive machinery and many of us may feel uncomfortable standing in solidarity with people that would have no qualms on taking away our liberty.

Crucially this is different to a police strike (not that such a thing is likely). In the event that the police were to take industrial action, we'd probably just see less coppers on the street. Most people would expect their freedom of action to increase. By contrast when prison officers strike, prisons will be locked down with the obvious impacts on inmates.

There are no easy answers to these questions, but we live in a complicated world and if we want to change that world, there's no point pretending otherwise. With Ken Clarke only just down the road, these questions are - arguably - particularly pressing for local activists.