BRITAIN can’t build its way out of the prisons crisis, Prison Officers Association chairman Mark Fairhurst argued today.

Mr Fairhurst issued the warning as Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans to build four new prisons – but admitted there still would not be enough places.

The union leader said:  “We have warned successive governments over the last couple of decades that if they fail to invest in the prison service a tipping point will be reached.