Should we spend £17m on giving every prisoner a phone in their cell?

ALTHOUGH the Scottish Government says it has ‘no plans’ to introduce phones to prison cells, it’s only a matter of time. Already prison reform groups are agitating for this lunacy and when English prisons go ahead, you can bet there will be a human rights challenge up here. Prisons are already soft and while the Left will say phones help prisoners avoid isolation and are likely to help avoid repeat offending, you can bet that a hardcore element will abuse them. They will intimidate victims and witnesses and operate criminal enterprises on taxpayer-funded phones. There is no way every call can be monitored and, even if they were, criminals would challenge that in court, or use code words. Bill Fraser, Glasgow.

THREE square meals a day, access to satellite TV and

computer games, state of the art gyms… and next phones… Where England leads, Scotland follows and no doubt the soft-touch SNP will be keen to be seen as ‘progressive’, so progressive that prisoners now get a better deal than pensioners.

JEAN RAMSAy, Edinburgh.

WHAT evidence is there that home comforts cut reoffending? Instead of providing a phone in every cell (Mail), the Government should make prison life harsher so criminals don’t want to go back inside. PENNy BAILEy, Great yarmouth, Norfolk.

A PHONE in every cell is a good idea. I spent nine weeks in prison on remand before my case was dropped. There was always a queue for the phones and there were many arguments about their use. The charges, which exceed those on the outside, have to be paid by families.

G. WyNNE, Verwood, Dorset.

A THOROUGHLY decent, kind member of my family was shot. He survived and the four men who committed this crime have been put in prison for many years. We are terrified that access to a phone in their cells would ease their ability to contact someone on the outside to finish what they attempted. Name and address supplied.

WHAT’S next: keys cut so prisoners can nip out for a pint with the lads? Prison is meant to be a punishment, not a luxury hotel. With a phone, inmates could conduct illegal businesses from their cells. C. GOODALL, Portsmouth, Hants.

IF WE give them a phone in every cell, many prisoners could have more home comforts than their victims. If politicians reckon this is going to stop re-offending, they are even more clueless than I thought. Name and address supplied.