Women's prisons reform urged

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More than 20 prominent charitable foundations joined forces to ask the politician to move forward the proposals, which would phase out most large women's prisons and replace them with small units holding 20 to 30 offenders.

The plan was set out by Baroness Corston in March last year in a government-sponsored review, but no significant steps have yet been taken to introduce her recommendations.

The charitable foundations contribute £36 million a year to the criminal justice sector in the UK.

Those who signed the letter to Mr Straw included lastminute.com co-founder Martha Lane Fox, whose has set up a charitable trust called the Antigone Foundation.

Teresa Elwes of the Bromley Trust said: "It is rare for charitable foundations to speak out together in this way but we want to encourage the Government to seize the unique opportunity offered by the Corston review and bring about real root and branch reform to the justice system for women."

It came after the number of women in prison rose to a record high of 4,505 last week.

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: "We are committed to improving the way we deliver services and interventions for female offenders and women at risk of offending, which is why we accepted 40 of the 43 recommendations made by Baroness Corston in her report last year.

"The Government aims to reduce the reliance on prison for low-risk female offenders by focusing on improving provision and interventions in the community. However, where a custodial sentence is appropriate, we are ensuring the needs of women are understood and prioritised."