Inspectors found chaos in which ‘zombie’ inmates high on drugs flouted authority

Austerity has left institutions understaffed, overcrowded and beset by drug problems

Criticisms highlight growing crisis facing jails in England and Wales

Home secretary will sideline traditional Tory approach to law and order

The Mount in Hertfordshire deemed to be ‘failing’ in its key mission to train and rehabilitate

A new model to attract private capital for social projects has struggled to succeed

Penal reformers praise his record and blame ministers for exacerbating problems in England and Wales

Ministry of Justice expected to take legal action to call off strike

Urgent notification from chief inspector echoes recent problems at Birmingham

MoJ urged to curb recall of previously released inmates and abolish short sentences

Contractors face scrutiny but inspector also finds grim conditions at public facilities

Government move comes amid controversy over outsourcing of public services

Rory Stewart threatens to resign unless problems are solved at struggling jails

High levels of violence, drugs, squalor and suicide linked to funding cuts

Experts insist small cells a trigger for disorder when jail is full

Meet the Lady who is using her fortune to create a network of restaurants run by inmates

Action urged after convicts’ safety found to have worsened significantly since 2016

Chief inspector says inmates ‘held in dangerous, disrespectful, drug-ridden jail’

Johnson statement the latest attempt to resolve issue of Nigerians jailed in UK

Criminal justice groups call for shift of focus from drugs to crowding

Competition helps improve jail standards but early advantages start to fade

Report on private groups’ record raises questions over ability to manage offenders

Comments contradict report blaming Liverpool jail’s problems on lack of resources