Charlie Taylor is not so much the canary in the coal mine of prison conditions as the British Gas engineer nailing a ‘condemned’ sign to the entrance while ministers skip gaily into the fumes. Taylor, just reappointed to a second three-year term as HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, has been raising the alarm about our crumbling prisons estate since taking up the role in 2020. He also writes on prisons every now and then for The Spectator, so you know he’s a good egg.
The response from ministers has amounted to little more than boilerplate but Taylor’s latest intervention ought to jolt them out of their complacency. He tells the Guardian that one in ten prisons in England and Wales ‘struggle to be fit for purpose’ and ought to be closed down. He cites HMP Pentonville, designed to house 450 inmates but currently cramming in 1,200, and HMP Wandsworth, a 1,000-capacity prison with 1,600 prisoners.
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