Pull down our prisons

More than 30 "run-down and poorly-located" jails should be shut and replaced with super-prisons holding up to 3,000 inmates, a former prison governor and deputy director at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has said.

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Historical London prisons 'outdated'

HMP Brixton is one of the six in London recommended for closure Credit: PA

Victorian-era prisons in the capital should be torn down and replaced with fewer larger prisons which can hold up to 3, 000 inmates, according to a former prison governor and deputy director at the Ministry of Justice.

In a report for think-tank Policy Exchange, Kevin Lockyer said the MoJ could meet its entire 2015/16 spending commitments by swapping old jails for 10 to 12 new plus-size prisons. He identified six London prisons among 30 across the country to close.

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Six London jails 'could close'

Wormwood Scrubs is amongst six prisons in London that could be shut down and replaced. Credit: ITN

A report by a former prison governor and deputy director at the Ministry of Justice has recommended that six major London prisons are closed.

Brixton, Feltham, Holloway, Pentonville, Wandsworth and Wormwood Scrubs would be amongst 30 nationwide that could be replaced by around ten larger ones.

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