Letter: True cost of jail escapes scrutiny

Sir: Your report 'A day in Britain's jails' (24 August) highlights some of the most disturbing ills of the current prison regime.

On recent visits to both Wandsworth and Holloway Prisons while on an attachment with the Home Office legal adviser's branch, the message was clear: more than the patently absurd restrictions on visiting hours, the overcrowding or the ignominious procedure of 'slopping out', the criticism that resounded loudest of all was of mealtimes.

To eat three cooked meals a day at 8am, 11am with the final supper of the day at 4pm with nothing else again until 8am the next day is surely an affront to human decency.

Yours faithfully,

RUPA HUQ

Newnham College, Cambridge