JAIL TINMATES
SUNDAY MIRROR Prisoners fed up with grub get cans of tuna sneaked in by their pals
JAILBIRDS are getting pals on the outside to smuggle tins of TUNA to them as canteen grub is so bad.
The tinned fish, a staple of no- frills student dinners, has joined drugs and mobile phones on the list of prison contraband.
The bizarre practice is revealed in a report by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons.
Tuna is halal so it can be eaten by Muslim inmates – who have often complained about a lack of separate preparation for halal and non-halal foods in jail kitchens.
The fishy smuggling was uncovered at HMP Thorn Cross near Warrington, Cheshire, where the food served up is said to be “very unpopular” with 88 per cent of its prisoners.
The of ficial report said: “Prisoners told us that due to the poor quality and quantity of the prison food, they had to supplement their diets with food bought in the prison shop.
“As an indication of the extent of this problem, the security department told us cans of tuna had become contraband items, found thrown in over the prison fence.”
The report also criticised the preparation of meals in the all-male open prison’s kitchens after finding that halal meat was not chopped on separate boards. ItI said: “We found uncoveredu raw meatm in the vegetablee fridge and halalh and nonhalal utensils mixed together.
“Prisoners working in the kitchen did little or no cooking, but were employed in preparing vegetables and sandwiches.
Inspectors ordered the jail to serve better food, stating: “The prison should improve the quality and quantity of the food provided, and ensure that prisoners receive adequate levels of nutrition.”
Last November it emerged that lags at HMP Guys Marsh near Shaftesbury, Dorset, had been smuggling in steak. And in July, pictures emerged of prisoners eating McDonald’s burgers in another jail.
ON JAIL’S TUNA SMUGGLING