Almost 3,800 prison cells left empty by bedbugs, asbestos and diseases

• Official Ministry of Justice figures reveal that 3,792 prison cells are currently unusable due to issues including bedbugs , disease, mould, and asbestos .
• The Fire Safety Improvement Programme is the main cause of cell closures, leaving 2,255 cells empty, alongside hundreds of others damaged by prisoners or rendered uninhabitable by damp and leaks.
• Health and environmental hazards have affected several sites, including bedbugs at HMP Wayland, Legionella bacteria at HMP Hull and HMP Lincoln, asbestos in Northumberland, and Radon gas at HMP Dartmoor, which has been closed since 2024.
• The loss of usable capacity comes amid a severe overcrowding crisis, which has forced the government to schedule the early release of roughly 5,000 prisoners over the next year.
• Prisons minister Catherine McKinnell blamed the previous administration for inheriting a capacity crisis, insisting the government is taking action to ensure dangerous offenders remain locked up.

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