Prisoners will have their mobiles cut off as Justice Secretary Liz Truss launches £550m bid to tackle the prison crisis
The Ministry of Justice, Home Office and phone operators signed a ground-breaking agreement on Friday last week
THOUSANDS of lags will have their mobiles cut off from January as Justice Secretary Liz Truss launches a £550 million bid to tackle the prison crisis.
The Sun can reveal that the Ministry of Justice, Home Office and phone operators signed a ground-breaking agreement on Friday last week.
And it will finally allow Governors to stamp out the explosion in handsets being used behind bars to organise crime, terrorise victims and post videos on social media sites.
New jamming “denial and disruption” technology is being installed at three jails over the coming days – a high-security site, one in London and one in a city in the north of England.
The technology will ‘go live’ early in the New Year – cutting-off signals to all-but a handful of approved numbers within the prison building.
The Sun is aware of the locations of the trial sites, but is keeping them under wraps to help the Ministry of Justice smash crime gangs. If the trials work - the technology will be rolled out nationwide.
A Government source said: “The number of mobile phones in our jails has rocketed and we have to act.
“This new stealth weapon will target and take down gangs and organised crime in our jails and bring those to book who think they can go on breaking the law behind bars.”
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Officials are so worried about the reaction from lags in each of the three prisons that extra staff are being drafted in to cope. They believe mobiles are being used by criminals to trade drugs, guns and organise murders in the outside world.
The move by the Ministry of Justice comes as Mrs Truss invests a fortune in hiring 2,500 more prison officers, revamping ageing jails and installing hi-tech kit in Britain’s courtrooms.
The Chancellor on Wednesday revealed the MoJ was getting an additional £550 million in “exceptional funding” to tackle spiralling prison violence.
Prisons Minister Sam Gyimah has also been charged with bringing in new laws to toughen sentencing for lags who attack guards.
The MoJ was humiliated last week when 10,000 prison officers staged a nationwide walkout in protest at a huge rise in attacks by lags.
Photos then emerged of prisoners at HMP Guys Marsh in Devon showing off smuggled steaks, takeaways and playing video games consoles.
