A DORSET MP has spoken of his concerns during a debate that prisons have become "breeding grounds for crime".

Simon Hoare, MP for North Dorset, said he is concerned about contractor Carillion, which runs the estate at the Guys Marsh prison in his constituency.

The prison made headlines last year when photos were leaked of prisoners enjoying alcohol and takeaway fish and chips.

Mr Hoare said he had questions about "the robustness" of Carillion, adding: "I remain to be convinced that Carillion, certainly as far as it has performed with relation to Guys Marsh, is up to the job, and that NOMS (National Offender Management Service) as the monitor of the contract has actually done the job that it is required to do.

"I don't take a 'private sector good, public sector bad' [view] or vice versa, but sometimes I do think that some of these companies who are contracted to do this very important work do need to raise their game."

Mr Hoare made the comments as Labour held an opposition day debate calling for the government to improve prison safety in the wake of a series of riots at jails in recent months.

Former justice secretary Ken Clarke called for the number of inmates to be cut as "foolish sentencing policies" have left jails overcrowded and unable to properly rehabilitate inmates.