Housing prisoners in Court cells costs more than a suite at the Ritz

5.48.42pm UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 14th May 2007

The overcrowding crisis in Britain's prisons has meant that the Government has been forced to house prisoners in court cells at greater expense than if they had booked them luxury rooms at the Ritz, the Liberal Democrats have revealed.

The figures come from Parliamentary Questions by Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Nick Clegg MP. They show that prisoners have spent a night in court cells on 77 occasions this year at a cost of £120,000. Once VAT is included that figure rises to more than £140,000.

That equates to more than £1800 for every one night stay of a prisoner in a court cell, more than a deluxe suite at the Ritz. (Prices were checked on 11 May and the quote was £1600 per night).

Commenting Nick Clegg said "These figures show the voodoo economics of prison overcrowding. A standard prison cell is already extremely expensive, costing more than enough to keep an extra police officer on patrol. But now the overcrowding crisis is costing us so much we might as well be putting prisoners up in the Ritz."

Concluding Nick said "The Government's failure to manage the prison population is to blame for this absurd waste of money."