Government to drop £1.2bn Titan prison plan

The government is set to abandon plans to build three giant Titan prisons costing of £1.2bn.

Instead Justice Secretary Jack Straw is expected to unveil plans for five smaller 1,500-place jails, with two set to go ahead immediately, according to a report by the Independent

Although the total number of prison places will not be cut, Straw is expected to announce on Monday that the Government will build five jails, each with 1,500 places. But only two of the new prisons will go ahead immediately.

A plan to buy a prison ship with 450 places has also been abandoned, after building a traditional jail was found to be 25 per cent cheaper. Proposals for the new generation of multi-storey Titan jails with places for up to 2,500 inmates each were drawn up by Mr Straw in 2007 in response to prison overcrowding.