Lord Falconer, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, responding to the news that the planned Secure College will not go ahead, said:

“This is a victory for common sense.  

“The Secure College was a flawed idea that should never have made it off the drawing board.

“Everyone agrees that more needs to be done to tackle youth re-offending, but Labour and criminal justice experts warned that this untested and potentially dangerous institution would do little to help with rehabilitation.

“Instead of wasting taxpayers’ money on vanity projects, Ministers should now focus on improving the appalling conditions in our existing prison estate.”