Government spending £4m a year on empty prison, MP report finds

HMP Dartmoor in Devon was shut down in July 2024 after high levels of radioactive radon gas were detected.

Wednesday 7 January 2026 14:41, UK

The government is spending £4m a year on the upkeep of a prison that has not held any inmates for 18 months, a report from MPs has revealed.

HMP Dartmoor was shut down in July 2024 after levels of radioactive radon gas higher than the recommended limit were detected, resulting in the relocation of more than 600 prisoners.

Since then, the category C facility in Princetown, Devon, has remained empty and on Wednesday a report from the House of Commons public accounts committee revealed the 11-year lease, which ends in 2033, is costing HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) £4m a year.

The report called the spend a "needless waste of taxpayers' money" and urged HMPPS, which is also committed to £68m in improvement costs to the jail, to "set out what it has learned from the failures of its decision making" and "ensure that any future contracts deliver value for money".

The prison service argued that the new lease had to be signed due to a prison capacity crisis, however, MPs did not accept that as an excuse for what they called "poor commercial decisions".

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "This government inherited a crisis in our prisons system, where prisons were on the brink of collapse, threatening a total collapse in law and order.

"This government is addressing the prisons crisis through building 14,000 new prison places, and the Sentencing Bill which will deliver punishment that works."

The Health and Safety Executive is currently investigating the radon levels at HMP Dartmoor, with a decision on whether to reopen the prison to be made once results have been delivered.

Government spending £4m a year on empty prison, MP report finds

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