THE number of people dying in prisons in England and Wales reached its highest level on record last year as campaigners decried a “national scandal” today.

Official figures published by the Ministry of Justice revealed that 394 people died in prison in 2025, marking a 15 per cent increase from the previous year.

The deaths topped 2021’s previous high of 371, which campaigners explain as a result of Covid-19 measures to lockdown penitentiaries.

This year’s record number of deaths include 79 people who died in “self-inflicted” circumstances.

Women accounted for 13 of the total casualties, up from nine in the previous year.

The MoJ data did however show a decrease in the overall instances of self-harm last year, which at 74,521, fell by 4.3 per cent from 2025.

Assaults rose by 6 per cent at 31,555 recorded cases in 2025, with female prisons showing 83 per cent higher rates than male prisons.

Howard League for Penal Reform chief executive Andrea Coomber KC, said: “When almost 400 people die behind bars in a single year, it is a national scandal — and it overshadows the otherwise encouraging slight decrease in the very high rates of self-harm incidents.

“The dire state of our prisons is revealed starkly in today’s figures.

“While the government has taken steps to reduce pressure on the prison population and stabilise regimes, clearly more needs to be done. Further action would save lives, protect staff and help more people to move on from crime.”

MP Kim Johnson said the data exposes the “deep, systemic crises at the heart of our prisons”.

“These are avoidable deaths,” she told the Morning Star. “How is this not being met with outrage and urgent scrutiny? Both prisoners and prison staff deserve far better than this neglect - our government is failing them, and we need urgent action now to prevent further tragedies.”

“The growing number of deaths in custody is a scandal of national proportions.

She added: “People who should not be in prison at all - including IPP and joint enterprise prisoners - are being left to languish inside, adding to the pressure on overstretched staff and driving conditions even further into the ground.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “These figures underline the scale of the prisons crisis this Government inherited. 

“While much of the increase reflects deaths from natural causes, we know more must be done to improve safety and conditions across the estate.”

“We are investing up to £300 million in prison maintenance in 2025-26 to improve conditions and keep prisons safe and secure, as well as building 14,000 prison places and reforming our jails to create better citizens.”