THE Ministry of Justice has accused prison campaigners of deliberately misleading the public over the state of the country’s jails.

Yesterday (Thursday, November 7), Howard League chief executive Frances Crook claimed the Government cuts had left the country’s jails a riot, fire or murder waiting to happen.

But a Ministry of Justice (MoJ) spokesman said: “It is beyond us why the Howard League go out of their way to deliberately mislead the public on the state of our prisons.”

The spokesman said prisons were less overcrowded than they had been for ten years and well run.

“Consistently trying to claim otherwise helps no one,” he added.

“We do not tolerate violence of any kind and, following a comprehensive review, will be issuing new guidance to governors to make sure they can tackle any assaults within their prisons.

“Our wide-reaching rehabilitation reforms enable offenders to learn the skills they need to turn their back on a life of crime, leaving prison equipped to find work and contribute to society.

“Every self-inflicted death is a tragedy and we make strenuous efforts to learn from each death, with dedicated resources providing support to many vulnerable prisoners every day.”

The MoJ spokesman responded to The Northern Echo’s request for comment too late for his comments to be included in today’s edition.