High levels of drug use and violence found at Onley in scathing inspection report

HMP Berwyn was meant to be a blueprint for fixing the penal system. Two years on, it is 40 per cent empty

National Audit Office says ‘rushed’ changes failed to deliver and cost taxpayers dearly

Management of ex-offenders was so poor that public safety was ‘put at risk’

Proposals include abolishing short sentences and focusing on rehabilitation

HMP Birmingham too ‘fragile’ to be handed back to private contractor G4S

Campaigners focus on flaws in system after ‘black cab rapist’ case

Justice secretary describes figures as ‘disturbing’ as assaults jump by a fifth

Report describes cells as ‘filthy and decrepit’ and criticises ‘serious lack of order’

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