Housing prisoners in court cells is more expensive than the Ritz

3.00.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 14th May 2007

The overcrowding crisis in Britain's prisons means that the Government has been forced to house prisoners in court cells at greater expense than if they had booked them luxury rooms at the Ritz, the Liberal Democrats have revealed. Figures from parliamentary questions show that prisoners have spent the night in court cells on 77 occasions this year at a cost of more than £1800 per night - more than a deluxe suite at the Ritz.

Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Nick Clegg said "These figures show the voodoo economics of prison overcrowding. The overcrowding crisis is costing us so much we might as well be putting prisoners up in the Ritz. The government's failure to manage the prison population is to blame for this absurd waste of money."