over his claim that Labour has ‘built’ 20,000 prison places. At the same time, he has demanded honesty from Gordon Brown after he misled chief police officers by claiming that Labour would ‘ensure that we will have the additional prison places that are necessary now and in the future’.
The Former Home Secretary and former leader of the Conservative Party wrote to the two cabinet ministers after the Chancellor of the Exchequer told the ACPO conference that Labour would ensure there were sufficient prison places “now”, and then the Lord Chancellor told the House of Lords of his plans to release thousands of criminals onto the streets to ease overcrowding.
Michael Howard demanded that the Lord Chancellor withdraw his claim that Labour had ‘built’ over 20,000 prison places – and quoted Government figures which revealed that much of the increase has come from contracts signed by the last Conservative Government, and from doubling-up (housing two prisoners in cells built for one).
In his letter to Gordon Brown, he asked how anyone could trust him when he used such blatant spin. “To paraphrase you, is there anything that you could say now that anyone could ever believe?”, he demanded of the soon-to-be Prime Minister.
Read Michael Howard’s letters in full:
The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Ministry of Justice
Selborne House
54 Victoria Street
London SW1E 6QW
June 2007
Our Ref: MH/JD
Dear Lord Chancellor,
In your statement to the House of Lords today, repeated by your Minister of State in the House of Commons, you claimed that, “Since 1997, there have been 20,000 extra prison places built”.
On 11 June 2007[1], your Minister of State told me that 18,523 prison places had been provided since this Government came to office. Of those 18,523 prison places, 894 were provided through PFI contracts, and an undisclosed number provided within public sector managed prisons, through contracts signed by the previous Conservative Government.
Furthermore, on 20 February 2007[2], your Minister of State told me that in 1998-9, the average number of prisoners held in crowded accommodation (‘doubling up’) was 12,965. By 2006-7 that figure had risen to 19,223.
It certainly seems clear from these figures that of the 20,000 prison places you claimed to have provided since 1997, a minimum of 6,258 are actually doubling up and not extra places built at all, and a significant proportion were provided under contracts signed when I was Home Secretary.
Will you now withdraw your grossly misleading claim to have “built” over 20,000 prison places?
Yours ever,
Michael
[1] (House of Commons Hansard, column 860W)
[1] (House of Commons Hansard, column 645W)
The Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP
Chancellor of the Exchequer
HM Treasury
1 Horseguards Road
London SW1A 2HQ
June 2007
Our Ref: MH/JD
Dear Gordon,
Today you told the Association of Chief Police Officers that, “We will ensure that we will have the additional prison places that are necessary now and in the future.”
Shortly afterwards, the Lord Chancellor told the House of Lords of his plans to allow the early release of thousands of criminals from prison to deal with over-crowding – a decision which he certainly must have consulted you about.
To paraphrase you, is there anything that you could say now that anyone could ever believe?
Yours ever,
Michael
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