Nearly half of prisoners at HMP Brixton tell watchdog it is easy to obtain drugs

HMP Brixton is the most overcrowded prison in the country for moderate-risk inmates. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian

HMP Brixton, the most overcrowded prison in the country for moderate-risk inmates, is failing to prepare prisoners for release, with nearly half saying it is easy to buy drugs, a watchdog has found.

Inspectors found that many of the 740 men held there had turned to drugs because they had nothing constructive to do. Two-thirds of the men were sharing cells designed for one person.