Clarke: Prison not good value for money

Ken Clarke, justice secretary, comments on his prison policy to the Today programme, amid a speech by Labour suggesting it supports him:

“What has been happening is there has been a huge increase in the number of people in prison, which is not only good value for money, but even more importantly I don’t think that is the right way to keep on protecting people … some of my critics think you should put more and more people in prison for longer and longer and longer. I personally don’t think that is the best way of protecting society.

“We have to stop having this revolving door where people go in prison, serve their time and within less than a year half of them have committed more crime.”