Holloway uses chauffeured cars
Inmates at Holloway jail are being ferried about in chauffeur-driven Mercedes - because the prison is reportedly short of armoured vans. Instead of being locked up in the back of a Securicor van, the female prisoners are driven to appointments or transferred to hostels in leather-seated comfort. The £30,000 Mercedes E class cars have walnut panelling and airconditioning, with suited professional drivers at the wheel.
The cars, costing up to £30 for a five-mile journey, arrive at the north London prison each day from Corporate Cars, based in Whetstone, which describes itself as "the UK's leading executive car service".
It normally works for business customers, but also takes bookings for weddings and other major events.
A source at the company said: "We do a lot of work for the prison. Our cars are high quality and I suppose it is a bit unusual to see them turning up at a jail."
Prison Service sources say the cars are used because of a shortage of vans.
One said: "It's an unusual situation, to say the least. Some of these people are convicted of or on remand for serious offences. But they're being treated like VIPs. It sends out all the wrong signals and, as a taxpayer, I for one am very unhappy about paying for this.
"I understand it's a problem with resources, but it seems to be this is the wrong way to solve it."
Inmates are handcuffed to officers in the back, and the Prison Service said the cars did not present a risk to public safety. A spokesman said the cars were a "cost-effective" means of moving inmates.
