Nearly 2,000 prison cells are ‘sitting empty over health & safety risks’ – despite thousands of lags being freed early

ALMOST 2,000 prison cells are sitting empty due to health and safety risks despite thousands of lags being freed early. The prison service has reportedly been force to put cells out of service and move offenders after regulators flagged fire risks. Almost 2,000 prison cells are sitting empty due to health and safety risks, it has been reported Credit: Alamy It comes as PM Andy Burnham scrambles to keep PC Harper’s killers behind bars Credit: PA Up to 1,800 cells currently remain empty as the prison service scrambles to install automatic fire detection (AFD) systems in all cells by 2027, reports The Telegraph. According to the outlet, around 19,000 cells still require the upgrades as PM Andy Burnham races to find spare capacity in UK prisons and block PC Harper’s killers from an early release. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Government officials have reportedly pledged to install fire safety systems in 10,000 prison cells by 2027 but no date has been set for when the remainder of the work will be carried out. Chairman of the Prison Officers’ Association, Mark Fairhurst, told The Telegraph that some of the works may be postponed to bring cells into use. “They have that option. The issue is the safety of the person occupying that cell that has been identified as an imminent fire risk,” he said. Meanwhile, Gemma Abbott, the legal director of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said it had been “two decades since the government first acknowledged the fire safety shortcomings” in prisons. In that time, she said that there had been “nine-fire related deaths in public prisons since then”. She said: “Whilst the chaos of the implementation of the Sentencing Act has understandably drawn attention and ire from across the board, we cannot forget that many of those who remain locked up in prison – and the staff who work there – are being exposed to intolerable fire safety risk.” Most read in The Sun A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We take the safety of our prisons extremely seriously and are carrying out these essential fire safety works as quickly as possible. “This is part of our plan to ensure that we can put more dangerous criminals behind bars and the country never runs out of prison space again.” Under the new Sentencing Act, which received royal assent in January, a swathe of prisoners were set to be released from September in a bid to ease overcrowding, sparking nationwide outrage. However, the new PM paused the scheme last month as he ordered a major Ministry of Justice (MoJ) review to identify any grooming gang members who could be eligible for early release. But it is set to resume instead on October 1 – with thousands of sex offenders, domestic abusers and killers still to see their sentences drastically reduced by two thirds. It comes as every single police chief in the UK signed a letter urging Mr Burnham to use “every lawful option” to keep PC Andrew Harper’s killers behind bars. The chiefs expressed their alarm over the impact changes to the release policy could have on confidence in the justice system, policing and public protection. Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole were jailed for 13 years in 2020 for the manslaughter of 28-year-old officer. The pair, who were 17 at the time of the offense in August 2019, were passengers in the car that dragged PC Harper for more than a mile along country roads in Berkshire when his ankles got caught in a towrope loop. After days of confusion and mounting pressure on the government, the PM said there is “more to be done” and he is “turning over every stone”. The government previously claimed it would reportedly face legal challenges if it tried to block the release of the killers halfway through their jail terms. After halting the release of over a 1,000 rapists and child sex offenders last week, Burnham said he had reached “the limits” of his intervention powers. But on Monday night, a government spokesperson said the PM had asked the Justice Secretary to consider “further options” to keep more serious offenders – including Andrew’s killers – locked up. The Sun reported on Wednesday how he told PC Harper’s sister that he “wouldn’t forgive himself” if he didn’t try to keep the cop’s killers in prison. Comment now