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First look inside new jail for 1,500 prisoners

Nathan Hemmingham
BBC News
Danny Lawson/PA A picture taken from outside a cell looking inside. It is taken through two doors that are not fully opened, creating a glimpse inside. A bed with blue mattress cover in a white room next to a window is showing.Danny Lawson/PA
Danny Lawson/PA Inside a prison cell. A bed to the right, with blue cover and white pillow in front of a window. There is a desk to the left with purple chair and a toilet.Danny Lawson/PA
The government wants to create 14,000 additional prison places by 2031
The prison will house category C inmates

A prison the size of 39 football pitches has opened in East Yorkshire.

HMP Millsike has been built on land next to HMP Full Sutton, near York, and will house almost 1,500 category C inmates.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said it would create 600 jobs and includes workshops and training facilities aimed at getting offenders into work on release.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who opened the prison, said it "set the standard for the jails of the future".

The government wants to create 14,000 additional prison places by 2031.

Last year, more than 2,000 inmates were released early as part of an emergency plan to ease overcrowding in the system.

Millsike incorporates security technology aimed at combating issues such as drones being used to fly in drugs, the MoJ said.

The measures include reinforced barless windows to deter drone activity, hundreds of CCTV cameras and X-ray body scanners.

Mahmood said this meant cutting crime was "built into its very fabric".

Danny Lawson/PA The outside of the jail. Light brown brickwork to the left with the sign HMP Millsike in large white letters, while to the right is a glass-front entrance.Danny Lawson/PA
HMP Millsike has been built on land next to HMP Full Sutton and was named after the adjacent Millsike Beck

The prison will be operated by the private firm Mitie Care and Custody.

Russell Trent, Mitie's managing director, said there would be a focus on rehabilitation.

"Everything from the building design to the technology, education and training opportunities has been engineered to create an environment where people leave ready to integrate and contribute to society," he added.

The prison has been named after the adjacent Millsike Beck and is the first in the UK to run solely on electricity.

The MoJ said it was expected that the use of solar panels and heat pumps would save £1m a year.

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