Prison must be rebuilt - report

The report said parts of Magilligan prison are unsafe

Magilligan Jail must be rebuilt, according to an inspection report.

The chief inspector of prisons and chief inspector of criminal justice made an unannounced visit to Magilligan in May.

They found unsafe and unsanitary units among unsuitable buildings and recommended that the existing H-blocks be demolished.

The report also said the amount of prisoners who said they felt unsafe in the jail had risen.

The chief inspector of justice, Kit Chivers, said they had asked for the H-blocks to be demolished and replaced two years ago.

"H-blocks belong to a bygone time," he said.

"They're difficult to supervise prisoners in, so you need quite a lot of staff to supervise prisoners there and there's no integral sanitation in them."

The head of the prison service announced last year that Magilligan would be replaced with a new jail, but Mr Chivers, said that had to happen soon.

Robin Masefield, Director of the Northern Ireland Prison Service, said he hoped money for a new prison will be made available soon.

"Paul Goggins, the prison's minister, is, I know, also very keen to reach an early decision and be in the place to make an announcement about the future of redevelopment or replacement of the prison whether at the Magilligan site or another one," he said.