POA: Prison life too cushy

Glyn Travis of the Prison Officers' Association (POA) has spoken out against the "cushy" prison life enjoyed by many inmates.

He claimed prostitutes had entered prisons and alleged drugs were also being brought into the category C prison HMP Everthorpe in Yorkshire.

"Unfortunately we have had [a] security breach… where it was discovered that members of the public had been using ladders to scale the fence, they actually broke into the establishment, [were] taking drugs, mobile phones and other elements of contraband and passing them to prisoners - prisoners who have got a history of escaping from lawful custody," he told the Today programme.

"The prisoners didn't take this opportunity or planned to escape because we believe prison life is so cushy."

Mr Travis said he believed the prison system had become a "soft target" for spending cuts and said it was suffering from a "massive shortfall" of around 1,000 staff as a result.

He rejected claims of sensationalising the issue to make a political point, adding: "What we are after is a safe and secure system that the public can have confidence in."