Figures released earlier this week in Parliament revealed 80 seizures of cocaine, 210 of heroin and at least 62 knives in prisons in England and Wales. Figures for knives could be higher as data was not available for a number of prisons. Under current law, Class A drugs are treated the most seriously. Possession can result in a seven-year prison sentence while supplying them is punishable with life imprisonment. And both can also carry an unlimited fine. ‘The amount of drugs and knives getting into our prison revealed by this data is alarming’, said Labour’s shadow justice secretary. ‘How can we possibly punish and reform criminals if contraband and weapons are circulating so freely in our jails? This needs a concerted effort by ministers to put a stop to this, but with all their cuts to prison staff and the increased overcrowding and violence on their watch in our prisons, I’ve not got much confidence they’re up to it.’