HMP Pentonville

THE Ministry of Justice is considering releasing some prisoners as the number of inmates who have tested positive for Covid-19 continues to rise.

Elderly inmates, in particular those aged 70 or over, are being considered for early release on licence.

HMP Pentonville, a category B facility in Islington, is one of the UK’s oldest and busiest jails and could be one of the institutions across the UK to be affected by the proposed emergency measures.

It comes as an 84-year-old sex offender from HMP Littlehey in Cambridgeshire became the first British prisoner to die after contracting the disease.

The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State Robert Buckland addressed MPs at the Justice Select Committee on Tuesday. He said the virus poses an “acute” risk in prisons and releasing some inmates could help “alleviate” pressures.

Mr Buckland said: “I have to bring that as part of the equation. However, I want to reassure the committee that the question of risk needs to be up there in the way this is done, if we are to do this.

“Let’s not forget that it’s a challenge for probation and how we supervise in the community, so I’ve got to deal with the whole picture.”

He also revealed around 9,000 inmates, who are on remand while awaiting trial, could be transferred to bail hostels but added he would need to use “discretion carefully” as a proportion of those inmates are in custody for very serious offences. F

amily visits to prisons were suspended on Tuesday following the government’s lockdown and prisoners in 55 jails were given phones with locked SIM cards as an alternative method of continuing contact with loved ones.

Solicitor Greg Foxsmith said he feared the current situation could exacerbate the problems in prisons and even lead to riots.