T o update a familiar political slogan: prison isn’t working. According to Charlie Taylor, soon to leave his post as HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, the “public are not being protected properly” because prisoners are being neglected , and there is little sign of improvement.

As he sees it, Britain’s jails are full of inmates who “lie around in their bed all day taking drugs , watching TV”. This situation is surely wrong from every point of view.

To those who favour retribution as the principal aim of incarceration, the general regime across the prison estate is lax to the point of lawlessness. Drones apparently ferry in consignments of drugs virtually at will, and there are not enough prison officers to ensure discipline, safety and a healthy environment for all concerned.…