The Guardian – Shocking state of prisons means ‘one in 10 should be closed’ 

The Guardian says one in 10 prisons in England and Wales are barely fit for purpose. 

Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor has said that one in 10 prisons in England and Wales are barely fit for purpose and should be closed if alternative buildings can be found, the paper reports. 

Mr Taylor has told the paper that 14 Victorian prisons – including HMPs Wandsworth, Pentonville, Liverpool, Leicester, Lewes, Exeter, Bristol, and Leeds – are over-crowded and ill-equipped and that thousands of prisoners are being held in vermin-infested and understaffed facilities.