Sunday shows round-up: Justice Secretary defends HMP Wandsworth security protocol

Justice Secretary: ‘The relevant security protocols were in place’

The escape of Daniel Khalife from HMP Wandsworth this week has shone a spotlight on the government’s prison record. Over 60 per cent of prisons in the UK are overcrowded, and there are severe staff shortages. Justice Secretary Alex Chalk told Laura Kuenssberg that the relevant security staff and protocols were in place during Khalife’s escape on Wednesday, but he did not yet know whether the protocols ‘were followed to the extent that they should be’. Chalk also claimed the government were working hard to attract and retain prison staff.

‘Which politician… is going to put front and centre in their manifesto that they want prison reform’

With the total number of prisoners in the country expected to keep rising, Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor pointed out that in the 1990s crime was higher but the country’s prison population was half of what it is now.