Sadiq Khan MP, Labour’sShadow Justice Secretary, commenting on today’s publication of the Safety in Custody & Sexual Assaults in Prison statistics, said:

“This data makes grim reading and is further evidence of the worsening conditions inside our jails on David Cameron’s watch. The prisons crisis this Tory-led Government has allowed to develop is clear for all to see.

“Prisons should be about punishment and reform, not violence and deaths. We need to reduce re-offending to cut crime, sparing communities the misery it causes but this is unlikely to happen with prisoners left idling in their cells, staff facing the constant threat of assault, with violence and death an almost daily occurrence.”

ENDS