Minister'sfact-findingFord visit

Mr Garnier called into the prison as part of a national tour which has seen him visit 15 prisons and young offender institutions in England and Wales.

His visit to Ford last weekcame at a time of continuing concern about its security regime. It follows the visit to the prison by prisons minister Gerry Sutcliffe and Arundel and South Downs MP Nick Herbert last month.

Mr Garnier met with the prison governor, Fiona Radford, staff and prisoners to discuss the challenges facing the prison and to see the daily working environment.

Speaking afterwards, he highlighted one of the key problems which faced Ford at a time of a national record prison population.

'In the open estate, which was designed to get long-term prisoners ready for release through limited but increasing exposure to the world of work on the outside, we are now seeing short-term prisoners being sent there because there is no room in the secure estate,' said Mr Garnier, the MP for Harborough in Leicestershire.

'They are unsettling the regime, bring with them multiple diagnoses for substance abuse and mental problems that should be sorted out in secure prisons and placing huge strain on the security of the open prisons and the locality.

'We are seeing too many absconds from open prisons because of the placing of unsuitable offenders in open conditions to relieve the overcrowding in the secure estate and some of these offenders immediately commit further offences.'

He added that the problem would only get worse as the government scrabbled around for short-term solutions for a situation it had created.

Mr Herbert, who has waged a campaign against absconder levels at Ford, said: 'I am glad that Edward Garnier was able to visit Ford and to see for himself some of the problems in open prisons.

'It is clear to both of us that the government's mismanagement of the criminal justice system has resulted in unsuitable offenders being transferred to open prisons, causing disruption and increasing the risk of drugs problems and escapes.'