U.K. prison cable upgrades irk politicians

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LONDON, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Nearly 3,000 British prison inmates have minded their manners well enough to earn free cable television, government officials said.

Jeremy Wright, a Justice minister and member of Parliament, said in a letter obtained by The Daily Telegraph, 2,976 inmates housed in contract prisons had earned enough credit for good behavior to receive subscription channels offered by British Sky Broadcasting.

The program was meant to reward adherence to the rules but some members of Parliament and other officials were not amused and objected to idea of prisoners being able to tune into anything other than the nine available free channels.

"Prison is not meant to be a place that people enjoy being in," said Chris Grayling, the Justice secretary. "I don't (want to) see prisoners in this country sitting in cells watching the Sunday afternoon match on Sky Sports."

Wright has defended the program, saying it keeps inmates occupied and reduces staffing requirements. He said the final decision on who gets the upgraded cable privileges is left to individual prison administrators.