Prisoners who are close to being released are being allowed to host dinner parties in an experiment that has lasted years but has only just been exposed.
Four 'lifers' are living in a 'hostel' where they reportedly cook for governors with meal kits from Hello Fresh and Gusto - a claim the Ministry of Justice has denied.
It is supposed to be a 'stepping stone' for prisoners serving life or IPP sentences who are considered to pose a considerable threat of serious harm to the public.
The prisoners, who go shopping at the jail store. have 24-hour access to a kitchen and shower and have rooms with a wardrobe and mattress, must behave well or face being returned to the normal wing of the unnamed Category C prison in England.
The experiment was established when the previous government tightened rules stopping most 'lifers' from finishing their sentences in open prisons over fears they could escape.
The move was exposed at the annual conference of the British Psychological Society's Division of Forensic Psychology in Cardiff, Wales.
Prison and probation psychologist Katy Burgess is evaluating the experiment.
One of the inmates told Ms Burgess it was 'a bit weird because you're in jail, so you know you should not be walking around the prison, really, at lunchtime,' prison outlet Inside Time reported.
Another prisoner said: 'Not having to be escorted or unlocked – it just makes you feel a bit more normal, human, less controlled.'
Ms Burgess added: 'Some staff thought it was a little bit of a step too far in a closed prison and didn't quite understand the benefit it may bring.'
A Prison Service spokesperson said: 'This small pilot aims to cut reoffending by better preparing certain prisoners for their eventual resettlement in the community.
'It's completely wrong to suggest offenders in the unit can access external food services.'
Gusto refused to comment.
MailOnline has reached out to HelloFresh for comment.
If these prisoners are a grave risk, why are they being readied for release?
It appears we have nut cases running in this country. There's no money to build more prisons, and prisoners are going to be let out early due to lack of funds, and now prisoners in jail are going shopping to host a dinner party. It's hilarious, if not absurd. Who's even going to be invited to these dinner parties?
Life should mean life, but life is now a word used to make our government and judiciary feel better about themselves, but it in no way mirrors the punishment.
Once again we are being lied to by proficient liars known as politicians, and also those who laughingly call themselves and each other 'right honourable.'
Rehabilitation doesn't always work, so why continue the farce? Prisons should be prisons, hard work, but now they are like hotels, and they don't deter the criminals.
We don't really have rehabilitation for prisoners though, because the previous government couldn't afford it, or so they say! They just tend to throw the released prisoner into a hostel or B&B who have no life skills and there are no alternative options for them, so of course, they go back to what they know.
Neither Labour nor the Tories represent their citizens, they just represent their pockets!
And what about the victims, where is their support? These victims spend the rest of their lives looking over their shoulders for fear it will happen again.
I do identify that prisoners who are going to be released need some fundamental skills, particularly life skills and education so that when they're released they have something to look forward to, like employment, and less probability of them reaffending.
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