Prisoners could be held in police cells in a bid to reduce 'acute and sudden' overcrowding in jails, MPs have been told. Justice minister Damian Hinds said the government has asked to use 400 police cells to hold inmates after a surge in overcrowding in male prisons over the last few months - the 'first time ever' such a rapid increase has happened.
It comes after there was an 'unprecedented increase' in the number of offenders coming into prisons in the north, according to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). Critics said the problem could have been predicted and that the decision paints a picture of a government in chaos.
In a statement in the Commons on Wednesday, Mr Hinds said: "In recent months we have experienced an acute and sudden increase in the prison population, in part due to the aftermath of the Criminal Bar Association strike action over the summer which led to a significantly higher number of offenders on remand.
