Three UK prisons to close in coalition justice reforms

Lancaster Castle prison is one of three earmarked for closure, according to the Times. Photograph: GTP/Alamy

Three prisons are to shut by July with the loss of 800 places, it was reported today.

The closures, which tally with justice secretary Ken Clarke's plans to reduce the prison population in England and Wales by around 3,000 over four years, will be announced today, according to the Times. They are likely to dismay Conservative rightwingers who have reacted angrily to Clarke's previous pronouncements on prison population. However, prison reformers have long argued that building more prisons is not a long term solution to offending.

The prisons that will reportedly close are Ashwell prison in Rutland, Lancaster Castle in Lancashire and Morton Hall women's jail in Lincolnshire. The inmates will be moved elsewhere while staff will be transferred to nearby prisons or invited to apply for voluntary redundancy.

The latest Ministry of Justice figures show there are currently 82,991 prisoners, around 5,000 less than the usable operational capacity of 87,936.

Clarke's plans would see judges given more discretion over how long killers spend behind bars, more offenders handed fines or community sentences, and some foreign nationals allowed to escape jail as long as they leave the UK forever.

Clarke said it was a "simpler, more sensible" approach but Tory backbenchers voiced concern that criminals would avoid being sent to prison. Shortly after becoming justice secretary he clashed with former Conservative leader Michael Howard when Clarke signalled an end to the "Victorian bang 'em up culture" of the last 12 years, marking an assault on Howard's 'prison works' orthodoxy. Howard responded by insisting that "crime went down as the prison population started to go up".

The Conservatives went into the election pledging to match Labour's plans to build sufficient prisons to house 96,000 inmates by 2014. The Liberal Democrats had a pledge to halt the prison building programme and urge the courts to use community punishments instead of short prison sentences. The coalition agreement split the difference by agreeing to take a fundamental look at sentencing policy.

Ashwell prison, a former Army camp, is a facility for medium risk males with a capacity of 214. Lancaster Castle is leased from Lancashire County Council while the land itself is owned by the Duchy of Lancaster. It has a capacity of 238. Women's prison Morton Hall, a former RAF base, has a capacity of 392. It will be converted into an immigration removal centre housing illegal immigrants awaiting deportation, according to the Times.

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: "An announcement on prison capacity will be made to parliament this morning."