PRISON bosses are in revolt over overcrowded jails and have attacked Tony Blair for creating “chaos” in the penal system.

The Prison Governors Association (PGA), which represents the senior managers of the 139 jails in England and Wales, will announce today that it is in official dispute for the first time in its history.

It has told the ministry of justice it is advising members not to supervise the 24 prisoners being kept overnight and at weekends in court cells.

The accommodation is being used because many cells at police stations are full with prisoners from overflowing jails. In response to the governors’ protest, Gerry Sutcliffe, the prisons minister, has taken the unprecedented step of directly ordering them to attend court cells.

Paul Tidball, president of the PGA, called on ministers to authorise the immediate early release of many short-term prisoners who do not pose a serious threat.

He said: “It is alleged that it’s the prime minister who is responsible for blocking [this] sane option in order to protect that part of his legacy which relates to toughness on crime.

“If that proves to have been the case, prison governors will remember him for requiring them to compromise their professionalism by presiding over the squalor of prisoners in crown court cells during a period of chaos.”

Tidball said his members cannot take responsibility for the safety and welfare of prisoners held in court cells because of “squalid and potentially dangerous” conditions.

He said governors have no option but to comply. But he added that unless their concerns are addressed at a meeting this week they will call in the arbitration service, Acas.

The move will pile pressure on Lord Falconer, the justice secretary, who is already facing complaints from senior judges that the overcrowding crisis means they are under pressure not to impose prison sentences.

It comes as the prison population reached a record high on Friday, with 80,977 inmates in jails in England and Wales. The jails are 481 places away from absolute capacity.

The crisis has been largely caused by the introduction in 2003 of so-called “indeterminate” sentences, mandating that longer terms be handed down for serious and violent crimes.

Ministers were forced earlier this year to place some prisoners in police cells and have considered using ships and converted barracks as jails. They have also placed 24 prisoners in the court cells, which are only equipped to deal with prisoners being held during daytime breaks in their trials. Sutcliffe admitted last month this measure was costing taxpayers £12,000 a night per prisoner.

John Reid, the home secretary, has promised to build four new prisons, providing 8,000 new places. But these will not open before 2010, by which time the estimated prison population will have surpassed the capacity of the new cells.

Tidball said the conditions in the court cells were poor, with inmates sleeping on mattresses on the floor, with inadequate medical cover and fire safety.

“I wonder how many taxpayers would prefer a few thousand minor offenders to be released a couple of months early than millions of pounds a month wasted on locking up prisoners in squalid, potentially dangerous conditions.”

Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: “Forget rehabilitation – imprisonment is now reduced to a dangerous game of musical cells. Prison after prison is reaching its safe operating limit.

“This is no way to run a criminal justice system.”

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