Work starts on making HMP Highpoint ‘UK’s largest prison’

A rural prison is to increase its capacity by more than 50% to become “the UK’s largest” jail, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has said.

Three four-storey houseblocks will be built at HMP Highpoint in Suffolk, between the villages of Stradishall and Great Thurlow, near Haverhill.

Construction work has begun on the 700-place expansion, including workshops and teaching facilities to help prisoners get jobs on release, said the MoJ.

Minister for Prisons, Lord Timpson, said they were “designed with a laser-focus on cutting crime” and were part of plans to deliver 14,000 more prison spaces by 2031.

“We cannot simply build our way out of this crisis, which is why we’re also reviewing sentencing so we can lock up dangerous offenders, cut crime and make our streets safer,” Lord Timpson added.