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Prisoners in the UK could serve their sentences in Estonia as the Labour government explores ways to offset chronic overcrowding, according to reports.
The Ministry of Justice and its Estonian counterpart are exploring “potential partnerships” after Tallinn offered to rent out spare prison capacity to other countries.
Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood and her Estonian opposite number, Liisa Pakosta, were expected to discuss the options on the sidelines of a Council of Europe event in Vilnius, Lithuania on Thursday.
Ms Pakosta told The Telegraph: “The UK and Estonia have a history of successful international cooperation, and such a partnership would create further opportunities to benefit and learn from each other.”
For the plan to proceed, the Estonian cabinet will first have to discuss and approve it in parliament.
Government sources have confirmed that the option is being seriously considered due to the dire situation the Labour government inherited from the previous Conservative leadership.
Tom Wheatley, head of prison governors’ union the PGA, said that if the plan was adopted there would be “a long lead in time” as it would require a treaty or deal and it would only free up a few hundred spaces in the UK so is “not a solution”.
He told The Independent: “It isn’t clear whether this will come to anything and the PGA have not been consulted on any plans, but it’s never going to be a game changer that changes the structural problem of demand for prison places outstripping supply in England and Wales.”
Instead, he said: “A wider review of sentencing policy to address the ‘sentence inflation’ of the last 35 years is what is required to deal with the structural problem.
“What the PGA wants to see is a Prison Service that is properly resourced to manage the number of people being imprisoned, safely, securely and decently; not in overcrowded, squalid or dangerous conditions.”
And border security minister Dame Angela Eagle on Friday said the government was “considering all sorts of actions to deal with the crisis we have been left by the previous government in prisons and the criminal justice system”.
She told Sky News: “We have inherited an absolute crisis in our prison system with very few places remaining there.
“The last government closed loads of prison places and didn’t replace any of them. Colleagues in the Ministry of Justice will be considering anything they can to alleviate the problem.
“What we cannot have is people who were convicted of violent and serious crimes not being able to be in jail.”
Men’s prisons in England and Wales nearly ran out of cells last month, with just 83 spare spaces left. Pressures were increased due to prison sentences given to convicts who took part in the recent nationwide unrest.
The total UK prison population is projected to rise from approximately 89,000 to between 93,100 and 106,300 by March 2027.
The proposal to send prisoners to Estonia was initially floated by former justice secretary Alex Chalk at the Tory conference last year, though it was dismissed at the time as potentially too expensive.
Although criticised by Labour as a symbol of Tory mismanagement, the idea is now being reconsidered by Labour officials, despite concerns over potential costs.
Norway and Belgium have previously rented prison space from the Netherlands, where the state spends nearly £100,000 per prisoner, but Estonia is believed to spend between just £10,000 and £20,000 per prisoner.
The cost of housing a prisoner in England and Wales is nearly £50,000. The cost of building a jail is £600,000 per prisoner.
Officials expect any negotiations to result in the cost possibly doubling, as the countries would be likely to set a premium, while there would also be costs for flights and posting some British prison staff abroad.
Further questions over whether taxpayers would need to pay for family members to visit inmates remain unanswered.
Ms Pakosta noted that several countries have shown interest in renting Estonia’s unused prison space and emphasised the benefits of international cooperation in ensuring security and creating jobs.
She highlighted the UK’s reputation for safe, secure prisons with rehabilitative opportunities as a key factor in considering the UK as a potential partner.
