Fury at Pounds 12 grub for police cell lags

PRISONERS kept in police cells to ease jail overcrowding get six times more spent on their meals, it emerged yesterday.

Cops are given Pounds 12 a day to feed each inmate they lock up - but jail meals cost Pounds 2.

And lags in police cells are often allowed to choose from local TAKEAWAYS.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw admitted even more could be spent in exceptional circumstances.

Prisoners were held in police cells 61,000 times last year - meaning their food cost taxpayers at least Pounds 610,000 extra.

Mr Straw said jail meals were cheaper because they could plan in advance and use bulk-buying.

It costs Pounds 385 in total to keep a prisoner in a police cell overnight under Operation Safeguard. Only Pounds 8.49 a day is spent feeding patients in NHS hospitals.

Primary schools get just Pounds 1.66 a meal for each child.

The Tories, who unearthed the figures, blasted the situation as a "disgrace".

David Ruffley , shadow minister for police reform, said last night: "Taxpayers will be appalled. This problem has only arisen because of the complete mismanagement of our prison system resulting in severe overcrowding.

"Government incompetence means our police are spending more time as prison jailers and less as crime fight-ers."