The government today announced that it was shelving plans to submerge the prisons inspectorate in a diluted criminal justice inspectorate. 

Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust said:

The Prison Reform Trust welcomes the statement by the Home Secretary, the Lord Chancellor, and the Attorney General, that the government no longer plans to submerge the prisons inspectorate into a conjoint fudge of a criminal justice inspectorate. Rather than ploughing on with something that was ill-conceived and fundamentally flawed, it is good to know that government is prepared to listen and recognise the unique contribution to reform made by the independent prisons inspectorate. This decision reflects a commitment to retaining the scope and robustness of the methods used by the current prisons inspectorate as it shines a light into the dark corners of our overcrowded jails.