Under-strain prison system to shut thousands of cells for fire safety and security improvements
Thousands of prison cells could be left empty because they are not fit for inmates to stay in.
It comes at a time when the prison estate is under extreme pressure, with the government already having to extend the prisoner early release scheme to try to free up space – with certain offenders allowed out after having served 40% of their sentence, rather than previous 50%..
Dozens of prisons across England and Wales are set to lose the use of cells while safety issues are fixed, and remedial works take place.
Capacity for thousands of prisoners in 28 different facilities could be taken out of circulation due to issues ranging from fire safety at jails like HMP Durham, Risley, and Swaleside, to broken windows threatening security at HMP Manchester.
In some prisons, Sky News understands makeshift fire standard practices are temporarily in place – including the use of domestic smoke detectors and additional staff on fire safety watch.
HMP Dartmoor, which housed around 650 inmates, remains closed after being mothballed in the summer as high levels of radon gas were detected.
A Prison service spokesperson told Sky News: “We have a rolling programme of maintenance works across the prison estate, to ensure cells are safe and secure.
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“The safety of staff and prisoners is our top priority and we will always take steps to ensure the risk of fire is managed appropriately.”
It comes as the government is pledging £2.3bn to create 14,000 new prison places by 2031 as part of their 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy.
Around 6,400 of the new prison spaces will be at new sites in Lancashire, Yorkshire, Buckinghamshire and Leicestershire.
A further 6,400 spaces will be part of new wings added to existing prison sites, plus 1,000 temporary accommodation “rapid deployment” cells and the refurbishment of a further 1,000.
The government says it is adjusting planning rules to prevent building delays by making prisons infrastructure sites of national importance to reflect their significance for public protection.
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Andrea Coomber, from the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “We cannot build our way out of this crisis.
“The billions of pounds earmarked for opening new jails would be better invested in securing an effective and responsive probation service, working to cut crime in the community.”
The Conservatives promised 20,000 new spaces by the mid-2020s.
By the time they left office, around 6,000 had been built.
Last week the National Audit Office, Whitehall’s spending watchdog, said the promised spaces would not be ready until 2031.
It warned expansion plans were “insufficient to meet projected future demand” and would leave an estimated shortage of more than 12,000 spaces by 2027, despite being billions of pounds over budget.
The Ministry of Justice’s own projections forecast the prison population could rise as high as 105,000 by March 2029.
There are currently just over 86,000 in jail in England and Wales.
Officials are relying on the upcoming sentencing review aimed at exploring the use of non-custodial sentences and alternatives to prison, in the hope of reducing demand on prison capacity.
Sir Ed Davey has written to King Charles to explain why he believes he has to refuse his invite to a state banquet for Donald Trump.
The Lib Dem leader said on Wednesday he will be boycotting the dinner next month during the US president’s second state visit to the UK because of the situation in Gaza.
He told Sky News on Thursday: “I’ve written to him [the King] personally explaining my thinking.
“And it’s with deep regret that I’ve had to take the decision, but I feel with what is going on in Gaza, it’s the best way I can get my voice heard.”
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Sir Ed said the “sad truth” is Mr Trump is the “one man” who has the power to stop the “horrible famine in Gaza, could get the hostages released, could bring an end to this horrendous humanitarian crisis”.
He said the US president could do that by phoning up Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and telling him to stop.
The Lib Dem leader said Mr Trump could also call up the Qatari government and other Gulf states to get them to put pressure on Hamas to release the remaining 50 Israeli hostages (20 living, 30 dead) they took on 7 October 2023.
The King and Donald Trump during his first state visit in 2019. Pic: Reuters
He emphasised that he has “huge respect” for the King and it was a very difficult decision he “really wrestled with” and involved him talking to his wife and praying about it.
Sir Ed denied it was political posturing and instead is one of the only ways he could get Mr Trump to listen.
“I didn’t want him to come to the UK without being reminded, as best I can, that he has that moral responsibility, frankly,” he added.
“And from what I’m picking up from many people, there are people across the political spectrum who agree with me and the Democrats that it is Donald Trump, it is the United States who has this power over Netanyahu, over Hamas, albeit indirectly, to stop this horrendous situation.”
Publicly refusing the King’s invite is “the best way I can get my voice heard,” Sir Ed said.
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King Charles will host a state dinner for Donald Trump. Pic: PA
Tony Blair at White House Gaza meeting
While Sir Ed is choosing to snub Mr Trump to get his voice heard, former Labour prime minister Sir Tony Blair has been asked by the US president for help on Gaza.
Sir Tony joined a White House meeting on Wednesday, chaired by Mr Trump, to discuss the war in Gaza and post-war plans for the Palestinian territory, a senior White House official confirmed.
They were joined by Mr Trump’s former Middle East envoy and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to also discuss the hostage crisis and plans to escalate food aid deliveries.
The official described it as “simply a policy meeting”.
In July, the Financial Times reported the Tony Blair Institute had participated in a project to develop a post-war Gaza plan, with the think tank having “had many calls with different groups on post-war reconstruction of Gaza but none included the idea of forcible relocation of people from Gaza”.
Sir Ed called on Sir Tony to be quizzed in parliament about his discussions with the Trump administration.
“If he has special insight into Trump’s intentions, it’s only right that parliament and the government are made privy to this,” he said.
“We must leverage all the information and resources at our disposal to make Trump do the right thing.”
The change is part of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s “crypto sprint,” an initiative to overhaul regulations in response to proposals from the Trump administration.
The US government announced on Tuesday that it is publishing economic data onchain to boost transparency for government spending.
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