Prison Service

The Prison Service is facing a fresh crisis as the number of new inmates spirals out of control, with an

extra 600 to 700 offenders being locked up each month at a cost of more than pounds 1m. The rise - the Home Office had predicted an increase of around an extra 150 a month - could cause the total prison population to leap to 57,000 by the end of the year, way ahead of the original projection of 53,200.

Richard Tilt, director-general of the Prison Service, disclosed the figures yesterday and said the rise this year had taken place even before the effects of the plans by the Home Secretary, Michael Howard, to introduce tough new sentences. Mr Tilt also said the service was talking to the Home Office to try to get more funding for the extra inmates.