Some prisoners earning more than the prison officers who guard them

Britain’s highest-paid inmates are earning more on average than the prison officers who guard them, shocking data shows.

Last year’s highest-earning prisoner had a net salary after tax of £36,715, while prison officers working outside London are paid £32,448.

Nine other inmates had net earnings of more than £22,900 last year, Freedom of Information figures obtained by the Sunday Telegraph show.

Some prisoners serving their sentences in low-security grade facilities are permitted to work away from the prison providing they return at the end of each day and meet other conditions.

The measures are part of efforts to rehabilitate offenders, prepare them for life back in society and to allow them to continue to provide for dependents while serving their sentence.

The prisoners can perform a variety of jobs but it is thought that some of the highest-earners work as lorry drivers.

Prisoners who are working are subject to tax and court fines.

And the Prisoners’ Earnings Act 1996 also allows governors to impose a levy of up to 40 per cent of any earnings of over £20 a week, which is paid to Victim Support, a charity that supports victims and communities.

It is believed that in the cases of some of the highest earners, prison governors have decided not to impose the full deduction however, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

The pay of the highest-earning prisoner stands at more than the take-home pay of midwives on £36,622, biochemists on £36,586 and physiotherapists on £36,602, according to wage figures from the Annual Survey for Hours and Earning.

An average of 1,183 inmates were employed every month last year, with the total pay at £22.5million.

This means the average working prisoner was paid the equivalent of just over £19,000 a year.

A Prison Service spokesman said: ‘Time spent working in the community significantly reduces a prisoner’s likelihood of reoffending, cutting crime and making our streets safer.’