Warning over pressure on prisons

The Chief Inspector of Prisons, Dame Anne Owers, said prisons in England and Wales are "increasingly fractious" with more inmates on longer sentences who may feel they have "little to lose".

In her annual report, she said disturbances had been contained "so far" but identified "real risks" of a loss of control in the future.

She said one in seven prisoners was now on either a life or indeterminate sentence, creating a "huge strain" on jails.

Dame Anne said the strategy for the next decade needed to learn the lessons of riots in the 1980s and 1990s.

"Otherwise there are real risks of destabilising safety and control, and of reducing opportunities for change and rehabilitation."

She said force should be used as a "last resort" but was increasing in larger prisons under pressure of prisoner numbers.

According to Dame Anne larger prisons were generally worse than smaller jails, she also raised concerns over plans for giant "Titan" jails to ease overcrowding.

Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: "Anne Owers's annual report describes a prison system living on borrowed time.

"Before it's too late Jack Straw needs to abandon his 'make do and mend' prison policy and instead break the vicious cycle of a rising prison population, ineffective rehabilitation in overcrowded prisons and sky high reoffending."