Lags will soon be held in ‘Portakabin’ cells as ‘prisons are full to the brim’

LAGS will soon have to be held in cells in portable buildings as prisons are full to bursting.

The temporary blocks are being hastily built on sports grounds and open spaces behind prison walls.

Some prefab cells will be lifted into place over the high-security fences.

Prison bosses will open 1,000 of the so-called rapid deployment cells within the next few weeks.

The scheme is designed to stop cells in police stations being used to house burglars, sex offenders and other cons.

Last week, there were 83,687 offenders in prisons — which are running at 98.6 per cent capacity.

Holding suspects in police cells — at more than £400 a night — costs the taxpayer millions of pounds.

One prison, HMP Pentonville, was designed to house 520 people but currently holds 1,205, with two locked in every cell for one.

The government is building six new prisons to ease the backlog caused by Covid and tougher sentencing laws.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We are installing rapid deployment cells across the prison estate to create extra capacity, while we press ahead with the biggest expansion of prison places in a century.”