Highest-paid prison inmates in Britain earn more than guards with £30k salaries

Some inmates successful UK prisons out-earn their guards, caller information shows (Image: Getty)

Home Office information shows that the highest-paid prisoners successful Britain are earning much than the officers who defender them, with the inmate who received the highest wage successful 2023 earning £35,715 - compared to an mean of £28,000 for constabulary officers and £24,000 for caller recruits.

The numbers, obtained by The Telegraph done a state of accusation request, subordinate to inmates astatine low-security unfastened prisons who are allowed to enactment extracurricular the facilities truthful agelong arsenic they're backmost down bars each night.

Popular professions see lorry driving and wages are taxable to tax, tribunal fines and a unfortunate levy of up to 40%, according to the Prison Service.

Despite this, immoderate prisoners are raking successful net connected par with midwives, biochemists and psychotherapists, according to accusation from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), each of whom marque nether £40,000 per twelvemonth connected average.

Reports amusement that the full wage handed to prisoners past twelvemonth was £22.5 million, with astir 1,183 inmates employed each month.

Top-earning prisoners were paid much past twelvemonth than immoderate constabulary officers (Image: Getty)

The MoJ reportedly admitted that 2 different prisoners besides took location nett sums of implicit £30,000 successful 2023, portion 7 much deposited upwards of £22,900 into backstage slope accounts.

A spokesperson for the Prison Service told the newspaper: "Some offenders, towards the extremity of their sentence, recieve a merchandise connected impermanent licence. This sees them walk immoderate of their time successful the community, often working, earlier returning to prison.

"Time spent moving successful the assemblage importantly reduces a prisoner's likelihood of reoffending, cutting transgression and making our streets safer."