North East jailbirds handed taxpayer-funded treats

Nov 1 2009 by Tom Mullen, Sunday Sun

But victim’s families have criticised the treats, released under the Freedom of Information Act two months after a separate request revealed some jails were allowing inmates to watch violent and explicit DVDs in their cells.

Neil Atkinson, of the North East-based National Victims’ Association said: “I think the public will be staggered to discover these prisoners, some of whom have committed the most dreadful violent crimes, have benefited from visits by sports and arts figures.

“It’s an absolute tragedy that the families affected by crime - in particular violent crime - struggle with their daily existence and cannot benefit from such activities.

“The overwhelming feeling among victims of crime is that prison sentences are too short and prison experiences too lenient.”

Matthew Elliott, Chief Executive at the TaxPayers’ Alliance pressure group, said: “While prisoner rehabilitation is important, these people are in jail because they are criminals. They should not be treated like VIPs and taxpayers will be questioning the priorities of the police and prison services in the light of these revelations.”

A spokesman for the Prison Service said: “Prisons should be places of punishment and reform, and providing educational, training and constructive pursuits is an essential part of this.

“It must be about more than locking offenders in cells. It must also be about providing offenders with skills and qualifications which will increase their chances of finding a job, and staying out of trouble, when they are released.

“Visits from high profile role models can promote confidence and discipline. All this work is focused on protecting the public, aiming to stop prisoners from re-offending after they are released.”