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World

There is no quick fix for Britain’s overcrowded prisons

4 July 2024

12:16 AM

4 July 2024

12:16 AM

Imagine the scene. It’s Friday morning and the new Secretary of State for Justice, Shabanna Mahmood, has just slipped into the big chair. Her predecessor has left her a note on the desk, ‘I’m afraid there is no cell space. Kind regards – and good luck! Alex.’

With prison capacity running at 99 per cent and new jails still on the far horizon, the first priority of the new Lord Chancellor is to stop the criminal justice system grinding to a halt.

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