Fury as cases of drugs found in jails more than double in five years

THE number of incidents where drugs have been found in prisons has more than doubled in five years.

Government figures reveal that 92,619 drugs were found in jails in England and Wales from 2018 to 2023.

This compares to 44,206 over the previous five years, according to figures unearthed by the Labour Party.

It comes after the Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor warned that the drug problem in HMP High Down, in Surrey, was a “critical threat to safety”.

Shabana Mahmood MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, said: “As prisoners become more violent, their chances of reoffending on release increases.

“This is quite simply putting the public at risk.

“The Government need to urgently focus on delivering the prison places we actually need to maintain order in our overcrowded prisons and to keep the British public safe.

“Labour will rebuild public confidence in policing and the criminal justice system and we’ll restore law and order in Britain.”

The Government has just introduced “no-fly zones” around prisons in to stop drones being used to deliver drugs and contraband to inmates. 

Minister for Prisons Edward Argar hit back: “This is another classic example of Labour – sniping from the sidelines while they can’t say what they’d do differently.

“These figures prove our prison security crackdown is working.

“This Conservative Government invested £100 million in tough security measures such as 75 x-ray body scanners, 600 sniffer dogs and 160 additional anti-corruption staff to find and destroy dangerous contraband.”