Inmates dine in style at south London prisons (From Your Local Guardian)

Inmates dine in style at south London prisons

9:24am Tuesday 21st February 2012 in Wandsworth By Rachel Blundy

Seafood provencale, jerk chicken, gammon steak and Greek moussaka – meals that would grace an upmarket restaurant just some of the tasty dishes being served up in south London’s prisons.

The menus, revealed to the Streatham Guardian under Freedom of Information laws, show prisoners are enjoying a more varied diet than some of Lambeth’s poorest families.

Inmates at HMP Brixton can choose from up to four different meals at dinnertime, including Shepherd’s Pie, chicken chow mein, beef vindaloo and Spanish omelette.

They can also tuck into a helping of coconut sponge, lemon cake or treacle roly-poly for dessert.

On Christmas Day last year, they enjoyed roast chicken with all the trimmings, followed by a helping of Christmas pudding, while Boxing Day saw cooks serving up chicken and leek pie accompanied by sauté potatoes with peas and sweetcorn.

Meanwhile at inmates at Banstead's Highdown prison can try the more exotic smoked mackerel and pate baguette, or simply opt for a pepperoni pizza. They can even sample some coca-cola chicken and complete their meal with fresh fruit.

And those staying at Her Majesty’s pleasure at Wandsworth prison can enjoy international dishes such as Caribbean vegetable stew to Malaysian minced lamb curry.

The average cost of feeding a prisoner in Britain is now £2.20 a day – a 10 per cent increase since 2008 – which would equate to over £600,000 to feed the population of Brixton prison.

Last year, the Taxpayers’ Alliance criticised the spending on prison food, saying it was excessive given the harsh reality faced by many British families.

But the Ministry of Justice insisted that all meals were created within a set budget and no additional money was provided for national holidays such as Christmas Day.

Do you think prisoners eat too well? Leave a comment below.