Latest updates: PM denies claim from Foreign Office whistleblowerRaab rejects whistleblower’s claims over Kabul evacuationWhistleblower condemns Foreign Office over Kabul evacuationFresh questions raised about Raab’s role in Afghan rescue debacleHow Af…
Britains’s prisons are becoming ever more like the failed US system | Duncan Campbell
From numbers behind bars to drugs, mental health and regressive legislation, our prisons are in a shameful stateJust around the corner from where the Krays used to hold sway in east London’s Brick Lane there is an establishment called Alcotraz. Describ…
Family of vulnerable man found dead in Dorset prison demand reforms
Call follows inquest jury conclusion that there was a string of failings in care of Anthony ClacherThe family of a vulnerable prisoner found hanged in his cell have called for improvements in how inmates with mental health issues are cared for after an…
Short jail terms fail to prevent reoffending, says former England and Wales magistrate
Short custodial sentences handed out ‘by default’ fail to achieve objectives, says John BacheCriminals in England and Wales are being jailed for short terms that fail to prevent reoffending because of a lack of awareness and availability of community-…
Damning report published into death of baby born to teenager in prison cell
Inquiry into how 18-year-old gave birth on her own in HMP Bronzefield in Ashford finds many failingsA catalogue of failures among prison and health professionals has been highlighted in an investigation report into the death of a teenager’s baby after …
UK food firms beg ministers to let them use prisoners to ease labour shortages
Meat processors and others say they must have more day release workers as they cannot find enough staffDesperate food manufacturers are pleading with the government to be able to call upon prisoners to solve a labour crisis blamed on the double blow of…
Inescapable truths about our outdated prisons | Letters
Readers respond to an article by Frances Crook, the outgoing head of the Howard League for Penal Reform, about the need for radical change to the prison systemFrances Crook has been a voice of reason in the charity sector for 35 years (The reform of pr…
Leeds prison punished inmates by restricting showers, report finds
Staff at HMP Leeds restricted access during hot weather in June 2020, with shielding inmates also affectedCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coveragePrisoners were unlawfully prevented from showering daily as punishment for poor behavi…
‘There is another way’: why Timpson boss hit out at PM’s chain-gang plan
James Timpson has employed ex-prisoners since 2008 and says putting trust in people pays offFor James Timpson there is nothing charitable about employing former prisoners. The head of the high street shoe repair and locksmithing firm Timpson – which ha…
Serious questions raised by solitary confinement in prisons | Letters
Emma Ginn and Annie Viswanathan on the effect of solitary confinement on immigration detainees and Dean Kingham on prisoners abandoned to close supervision centres. Plus, Howard Thomas on steps towards sending fewer people to prisonProlonged solitary c…