Plans for three Titan prisons is a 'recipe for disaster', Jack Straw told

Plans to beat overcrowding by building three huge Titan jails were last night facing a barrage of criticism.

Thirty-four leading criminal justice organisations signed an open letter demanding Justice Secretary Jack Straw scrap the policy.

They warned that 'warehousing' up to 2,500 inmates in each of the jails was a recipe for disaster, which would make it harder to rehabilitate criminals.

They say housing convicts in smaller, local jails has a better prospect of success.

Signatories include the Prison Officers Association, Prison Reform Trust, Liberty, Nacro, the International Centre for Prison Studies and Napo, the probation officers union.

Jon Collins, of the Criminal Justice Alliance, which co-ordinated the letter, said: 'This demonstrates the widespread opposition to the plans for Titan prisons, yet the Government's consultation, which closes today, does not even ask the fundamental question of whether Titans should be built at all.

'Titan prisons would be a huge waste of public money, doing nothing to reduce crime or tackle sky-high reoffending rates.

'The money could be much better spent elsewhere, making improvements to the existing prison system and investing in measures to reduce the prison population.

'Such is the level of informed opposition to Titans, these plans should by now be dead in the water.

'Rather than carrying on regardless, the Government must do the right thing, recognise that they have made a mistake and withdraw plans for Titan prisons immediately.'

The letter has been timed to coincide with the end of the Government's consultation.

The plans are central to a frantic attempt to provide more than 10,000 extra prison places, taking the total to 96,000.

Opposition has come from all sides, amid warnings that placing inmates in such huge jails could make serious disturbances and even riots more likely.

Yesterday, the National Council of Independent Monitoring Boards said it had 'fundamental doubts' about the idea.

Trying to manage the jails would cause 'major staff problems', it added.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: 'These new Titan prison complexes will not be warehouses. It is envisaged that each complex will be made up of smaller units.

'We want to bring the resources we have to reduce re-offending together in one place. Our aim is to provide better value for money and better opportunities to rehabilitate prisoners so that they don't offend again.'