MPs in fresh criticism of Britain's prison service after riots

Britain's under-fire prison service, experiencing its worst riot for over 25 years, came under a new attack on Monday from a powerful House of Commons committee.

Parliament's Work and Pensions Committee said in a report that former offenders leaving prison face a "cliff edge" drop off in support offered to help them re-enter normal life and find work.

The report added that even while in prison, education and employment support are fragmented and good practice is "patchy and inconsistent".

The criticism from senior politicians comes just days after a riot at Birmingham prison involving hundreds of inmates had to be quashed by teams of specially trained riot police.

Damage to the privately-run prison was so serious that hundreds of prisoners have had to be transferred to other jails.

The Birmingham riot was the worst of a series of protests at prisons across Britain, with prisoners complaining of conditions they are being kept in.

The new report says even the government's own assessment of the prison system is that it fails to rehabilitate criminals or prevent them from reoffending.

The cost to the taxpayer of reoffending stands at near 18 billion U.S. dollars a year in the criminal justice system alone.

The report adds that job-ready ex-offenders are potentially dismissed by official job centers as "hard cases".

Early reports on a government "Through the Gate" program paint a disappointing picture of resettlement services for short-term prisoners.

Inspectors did not encounter a single prisoner who had been helped into employment by Through the Gate program.

The British government has announced that it will publish a new strategy in early 2017 for getting more ex-offenders into employment and this marks welcome progress.

Britain's prison population of almost 86,000 is one of the highest in Europe. Endit