Mobile phones seized in Bristol prison

Mobile phones and SIM cards have been found in cells at Bristol Prison an average of three times a month, Government figures have revealed.

Officers discovered 18 handsets and 14 SIM cards had been smuggled into the Category B prison in Horfield over the last financial year.

That translates to one in 19 inmates having the potential to make uncontrolled contact with the outside world.

But as the figures only relate to phones and cards found by the authorities, the true scale of the problem could be far greater.

The Liberal Democrats used the records, which were released in Parliament, to claim that prisons were out of control.

David Howarth, Liberal Democrat Justice spokesman, said: "These figures clearly show that our prison system is awash with illicit mobile phones.

"The ready availability of mobiles and drugs are a clear indication of how our prisons are out of control.

"Hard-working staff do an excellent job in difficult circumstances but their capabilities are stretched by the Government's obsession with putting record numbers of people behind bars.

"Mobile phones are the key tool used by prisoners to supply drugs both inside and outside the prison walls.

"Last year's Blakey Review made some excellent recommendations to curb mobile use in prisons but too little has been done."

Nationally 4,132 mobile phones and 4,352 SIM cards were seized in prisons in England and Wales in 2008/09 - more than four times more than in 2006.

The government argues the figures improvements in security and intelligence and insists new technology is helping prison officers crack down on smuggling.

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: "The Government is committed to stopping mobile phones and SIM cards from entering prisons, and to finding and disrupting any which are smuggled in. The seizures we make demonstrate our commitment, as well as the effectiveness of prison security and intelligence work.

"We have already introduced a range of new technology to bolster prisons' ability to find mobile phones and SIM cards, including body scanning chairs, in line with the recommendations of the Blakey report.

"In addition, the Government has strengthened the law around this, meaning that someone convicted of bringing in a mobile phone or its components to a prison now faces up to two years in jail."