Jo Stevens MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Justice, responding to the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman report, said:

 “Under this Tory Government we have seen a drastic fall in the number of prison officers due to their cuts to the Ministry of Justice’s budget.

 “Staff numbers have fallen, leading to increasing levels of violence, drug use and chaos in our prisons.

 “The Tories have presided over the highest number of prison homicides since records began. Swift and urgent action must be taken in order to tackle the astronomical levels of violence in our prisons to help ensure that meaningful rehabilitation takes place, reoffending rates fall, and the public can have confidence in our prison system.”

 ENDS