The latest scheme being proposed could see the public being invited to invest in new prisons on a buy-to-let basis, with the Government paying rent to shareholders, writes Tony Booth.

It sounds extraordinary - but the proposal is now being considered by officials as a possible means of financing much needed new detention cells.

The prison system in England and Wales is stretched beyond capacity, with 85 of the 139 prisons officially declared overcrowded. There are currently nearly 80,000 men, women and children held in prisons in England and Wales and this figure has been rising steadily since 1993.

It has now reached unprecedented levels. There are more people held in prison cells in England and Wales than in any other country in Western Europe.

The statistics have lead to relentless Government criticism and widespread media attention: