Chat-bout.net - UK plans to spend £25m to build Jamaican prison

UK plans to spend £25m to build Jamaican prison

Details of the deal announced as PM David Cameron arrives in Caribbean for special trip

Britain has revealed plans to spend £25million to building a prison in Jamaica by 2020 so nationals jailed in the UK can serve their sentences in their home country.

Prime Minister David Cameron announced the deal at the start of his two-day visit to the Caribbean island.

The agreements follows a deadlock in negotiations over a prisoner transfer deal between the two countries that has been ongoing "for years", the cabinet office said.

Britain is expected to shoulder 40 per cent of the cost, while Jamaica would cover the remainder of the bill of the facility which would house 1,500 inmates as part of the 'Prisoner Transfer Agreement'.

With a prison population of more than 600, Jamaicans represent the third largest group of foreign nationals in British prisons.

They cannot be deported because of poor prison conditions in Jamaica that would allow a successful challenge under human rights law, the Government said.

Under the prison scheme, more than 300 existing offenders would be extradited to Jamaica and would save UK taxpayers £10 million a year.

Almost 70 per cent of Jamaicans in prison in Britain are serving sentences for violence and drug offences.

Cameron said: "It is absolutely right that foreign criminals who break our laws are properly punished but this shouldn't be at the expense of the hard-working British taxpayer.

"That's why this agreement is so important. It will mean Jamaican criminals are sent back home to serve their sentences, saving the British taxpayer millions of pounds but still ensuring justice is done. And it will help Jamaica by helping to provide a new prison, strengthening their criminal justice system."

The average annual cost of a prison place in the UK is £25,900.

Britain has compulsory prisoner transfer agreements with Albania, Nigeria, Somaliland, Rwanda, and Libya.

Mr Cameron, the first British prime minister to visit the island in 14 years, is also set to announce £300m of aid funding on infrastructure projects across the Caribbean, including roads, bridges and ports.

He said the regional infrastructure fund, which will be delivered in collaboration with the Caribbean Development Bank, would help support economic growth in the Caribbean.

Bookmark us!