Widdecombe recalls holiday camp idea as she condemns prisoner early release

Ann Widdecombe said she erstwhile projected taking implicit a disused vacation campy to respond to situation overcrowding, arsenic she urged the Government to supply much impermanent spaces.

Reform UK’s migration and justness spokesperson, who antecedently served arsenic a Tory prisons curate successful the 1990s, made the remarks arsenic she criticised Labour for reducing the magnitude of clip prisoners indispensable walk successful jailhouse earlier they are automatically released – from 50% of their condemnation to 40%.

The move, which does not use to those convicted of enactment offences, terrorism, home maltreatment oregon immoderate convulsive offences, is expected to effect successful 5,500 offenders being released successful September and October.

Speaking astatine Reform UK’s enactment league successful Birmingham, Ms Widdecombe said each governments find determination is unit connected situation spaces and they statesman to tally out.

She said: “At that constituent you person a choice: you either fto the prisoners retired oregon you supply much situation spaces.

“And I’m not talking astir the longer-term plans for caller prisons, I mean that if you spot a concern coming down the way astatine you erstwhile you’re going to tally retired of situation spaces past you instrumentality impermanent measures to proviso those caller places; it isn’t rocket science.

“And I did. I brought successful a situation vessel from the United States.”

She added: “I besides utilized disused Portakabins from decommissioned Norwegian lipid rigs and enactment them down successful the grounds of the little information prisons; much spaces.

“I adjacent proposed, but the wide predetermination got successful the way, to instrumentality implicit a disused vacation camp.

“Now each you person to do, due to the fact that the accommodation’s already there, you enactment up a unafraid perimeter and lo, you’ve got a low-security prison.

“Of people you bash instrumentality distant the cinema and the swimming excavation earlier you bash that.

“But, successful short, it tin beryllium done. Just arsenic the power of amerciable migration tin beryllium done.”

Ms Widdecombe earlier said radical who get “unlawfully” successful the UK connected tiny boats should beryllium housed “in unafraid reception centres”.

She said of the party’s approach: “We are not going to location the radical who travel successful connected those boats successful hotels, astatine the outgo of billions a time to the British taxpayer.

“We volition alternatively location them successful unafraid reception centres.

“And past the connection goes retired if you get unlawfully successful this state from a perfectly harmless state past you volition beryllium refused, you volition beryllium dealt with rapidly and you volition beryllium sent back.”