East of England prisons nearing capacity, MoJ figures show

HMP Whitemoor is a high-security prison with an operational capacity of 458 inmates

Several prisons in the East of England are nearing their operational capacity, figures have revealed.

HMP Whitemoor, in Cambridgeshire, was one prisoner below its capacity of 457 inmates in the latest data published by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

Other prisons in the region, including Northamptonshire's HMP Rye Mill, are also under similar pressure.

An MoJ spokeswoman said the government was "categorical that dangerous offenders should stay behind bars".

The figures, accurate as of 23 February, showed that HMP Rye Hill - a category B prison - had just two vacant cells.

HMP Rye Hill is a Category B prison that houses sex offenders

HMP Littlehey, in Cambridgeshire, had just four spaces left of its 1,235 capacity.

In Norfolk, HMP Bure had room for eight more prisoners while in Suffolk, HMP Warren Hill had just six.

The pressure was also being felt at HMP Aylesbury, in Buckinghamshire, which had 11 spaces left, and at category B facility HMP Chelmsford, in Essex, where there were 20.

Separate MoJ figures, published on Friday, revealed there were 839 prison spaces left in England and Wales - with an overall operational capacity of 89,059.

Latest figures show 88,220 people are currently incarcerated in England and Wales, leaving 839 empty spaces

The ministry's spokeswoman said the prison estate remained under pressure "following the impact of the pandemic and barristers' industrial action".

"We will always ensure we have the prison places we need to keep criminals locked up and the public safe," she said.

The government has been carrying out the "biggest prison expansion programme since the Victorian era," the spokeswoman added.