PRISONS across the UK may not have the resources to deal with growing radicalisation, according to a North-East MP.

Last week, Darlington MP Jenny Chapman urged Prime Minister David Cameron to urgently examine whether the prison service has the resources and the skills to deal with the radicalisation of prisoners.

Speaking to The Northern Echo, she questioned whether there were enough resources available to enable prison staff to tackle the issue.

She said: “Radicalisation is harmful to individuals and their families and it is something that the Muslim community and the rest of the UK is concerned about.

“It has become something that we’re all more aware of as a problem and when we’re looking at ways to tackle it, we need to remember that it happens in our prisons.

“The prison service says it’s a small problem but it’s a significant one and the right response is to deal with it effectively and quickly wherever it is found – we can’t wait for it to become more widespread before taking action.

“There are programmes being developed that are effective in dealing with this and It’s important that prisons always develop ways to protect more impressionable inmates from the influence of extremists so that individuals don’t become radicalised when imprisoned.”

She added: “I would question whether the prison service currently has adequate resources and skills to fully address this issue.

“There’s chronic overcrowding and understaffing, meaning anything above and beyond dealing with the basic security and basic needs of inmates is difficult and it’s harder to deal with additional challenges, such as radicalisation.

“The PM assured me that the government was aware of this and is taking steps to deal with it.”

Glyn Travis of the Prison Officers Association echoed Ms Chapman’s sentiments.

He said: “The Coalition Government imposed cuts too deeply, too quickly and as a result staff are overstretched and prisoners are left to their own devices – interaction between prisoners and staff is at an all time low.

“That’s a contributing factor to the growing problem of radicalisation in prisons - the radicalisation of the vulnerable by the extremists that have been locked up because society no longer trusts them.

“Appropriate resources and necessary training are needed to ensure prison officers have got the skills and competence to pick up on when somebody is being subjected to radicalisation by another prisoner.”