The chief inspector of prisons has said HMP Liverpool and other "Victorian-era" jails should be shut down.
The chief inspector of prisons, Charlie Taylor, called for the closure of one in ten prisons in England and Wales and singled out Victorian-era inner-city jails as they are "struggling to fulfil their purpose". In an interview with the Guardian he cited HMP Liverpool among a number of other prisons including HMP Wandsworth – where terror suspect Daniel Khalife is accused of escaping from – as in need of immediate attention.
Mr Taylor said: "There are a lot of inner-city local prisons that won’t be closed any time soon but they really struggled to fulfil their purpose. Wandsworth was built for around 1,000 prisoners and I think has 600 over; Pentonville [in north London] was built for around 450 and I think there [are] about 1,200 prisoners in that jail.
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"So there are an awful lot of jails that have got just far more prisoners than they were originally designed for. But also the infrastructure of some of those jails really struggles. You’re probably talking about 10% of jails that struggle to be fit for purpose."
Asked whether he believed about 14 prisons – just over 10% of the total – should be closed in an ideal world, he said "yes". About the Victorian-era jails, he added: "They tend to be built with very small footprints because they’re built in inner cities. And they definitely haven’t got enough activity places when the population is double the number that the prison was originally built for."
With the next general election to be called any time until January 2025, the chief inspector, who is a former head teacher, also warned politicians against promising to increase sentences without having a "bigger conversation about what we want from prisons".
A Prison Service spokesperson said: "The latest figures show that the majority of prisons are performing well and, where there are issues, we are providing intensive support for those jails to drive long-term improvements, recruit extra staff, bolster security and boost training and work opportunities for prisoners so we can better protect the public.
"We are also pressing ahead with the biggest expansion of prison places by any government in over a century, delivering 20,000 additional spaces including six new, modern prisons. Around 5,500 new places have already been delivered, including HMP Fosse Way, which opened in May.”
According to figures released by the Ministry of Justice in July, the number of prisons rated “outstanding” reached its lowest point in six years. Only 13 out of 119 prisons were awarded the highest rating. HMP Liverpool was awarded a rating that reflected "good performance".
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