UK minister keen to learn from Scots on prisons

UK justice minister Rory Stewart has pledged to “learn lessons” from Scotland as his seeks to reduce England’s prison population.

Speaking in the House of Commons yesterday, Mr Stewart said he hoped to meet colleagues north of the Border to discuss the issue of short sentences.

Yesterday a watchdog report said inmates had effectively taken over the running of HMP Bedford. During a Commons debate, the minister was asked by SNP MP Stuart Mcdonald about plans to introduce a presumption against sentences of less than 12 months in Scotland.

Mr Stewart said: “Connected to the question of crowding in prisons is the question of how many people are sentenced. The two are clearly related.

“The evidence suggests that very short sentences are in fact likely to lead to more reoffending than a community sentence. It is an issue that we need to look at very carefully.”

He added: “I will be up in Scotland again talking with members of the criminal justice fraternity there to learn from these lessons. What actions we take and how English law differs from Scottish law will be the key in this.”