Prisoners in UK to be sent to rented cells overseas to ease jail overcrowding

Ministers are to rent prison cells overseas to help tackle the overcrowding crisis in Britain’s jails, Report informs referring to The Telegraph.

Alex Chalk, the Justice Secretary, was expected to announce the plan on October 3 as figures showed there were only 258 places left in the adult male prison estate.

The Government is expected to argue that the “innovative” approach is necessary to enable the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to continue to take offenders convicted or remanded by the courts.

It is thought the policy is at an early stage and officials stressed that any agreement with a foreign government to rent prison places should not undermine the core principles of the British prison system.

The move comes on top of the Government’s plans to create 20,000 extra prison places by the mid-2020s but amid concerns that planning rows could delay their construction.