40,000 prisoners snub chance of early release because jails are so 'cushy'

Thousands of criminals are passing up the chance to go free from prison early each year, while dozens of drug dealers have been caught breaking in to jails.

Ministry of Justice data shows almost 40,000 inmates have opted out of the early release tagging scheme since it was introduced in 2000, turning down the chance to leave jail up to 18 weeks early.

And more than 40 outsiders have been caught inside prisons or trying to enter by scaling walls.

Many are apparently selling drugs to criminals while others may be offenders trying to get back in.

The findings follow warnings from prison officers' leaders, who claimed inmates were often happy to enjoy 'soft' conditions behind bars, where drugs are cheaper than outside.

They said prostitutes plied their trade in open prisons and criminals in secure units enjoyed breakfast in bed, satellite TV and sports facilities, while staff treated them 'with kid gloves' and were 'subservient' for fear of breaching their human rights.

The figures reveal widescale rejection of the Home Detention Curfew Scheme under which criminals such as drug dealers and burglars can be freed early wearing an electronic tag, with a home curfew from 7pm to 7am.

Prison overcrowding has seen numbers being released increase sharply to almost 40,000 last year.

But on average almost 5,000 prisoners a year who are eligible for the scheme choose not to apply.

The Ministry of Justice suggested some may not have a suitable home address, or may believe they would not pass the necessary risk assessment tests.

The figures, released in answer to a Parliamentary written question, also show that 42 members of the public have been caught inside jails or trying to break in during the past five years - rising from five in 2003 to 19 last year.

Officials said only one succeeded in breaking in to a secure prison, but 25 were caught in open jails.

There were 16 cases of people scaling walls or fences from the outside - 13 of them using ladders.

Prison service insiders believe most are cases of drug dealers passing their wares to contacts inside jails.

Tory justice spokesman Nick Herbert said: 'Labour's mismanagement of prisons is descending from tragedy to farce.

'How secure are our jails if criminals can break into them?

'Whether these are offenders trying to return to jail, as prison officers have alleged, or dealers trying to traffic drugs, it is ludicrous that supposedly secure establishments can be breached in this way.'

The Prison Officers Association recently claimed many inmates did not wish to leave jail because life inside is so congenial.

Assistant general secretary Glyn Travis said that at Everthorpe Prison in East Yorkshire, a drug dealer was caught breaking in at night to pass drugs to inmates through cell windows  -  even selling women's clothing to a transvestite prisoner.

At Sudbury Open Prison in Derbyshire, astonished staff reported seeing women  -  thought to be local callgirls - leaving the jail in the mornings.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman rejected accusations that inmates wanted to stay in jail, adding: 'Prison is anything but soft and it is absurd to suggest otherwise.'

However, Dr Neil Bentley, director of public services at the Confederation of British Industry, will today accuse the prison system of being a 'hugely expensive bed and breakfast' facility.