蜜芽传媒

Former cabinet minister and ex- prisoner Jonathan Aitken has accused previous justice secretaries Michael Gove, Chris Grayling and Ken Clarke of being responsible for the problems in the prison system.

Mr Aitken, who was jailed in 1999 and now campaigns for prison reform, said "at least 3,500" prison officers were needed to replace those who had lost their jobs under the 鈥渟wingeing and unjustified鈥� cuts to the prisons budget.

He praised current Justice Secretary Liz Truss for facing up to the "grim realities" of the situation and suggested that the foreign aid budget be used to pay for improvements in prisons.