Dame Antonia Romeo, the current Cabinet Secretary, is facing scrutiny over her previous role at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) as the UK grapples with a significant prison overcrowding crisis that has led to early releases of thousands of inmates. Romeo served as the head of the MoJ for four years while issues with prison capacity and new construction projects mounted.
Members of Parliament have accused her department of overseeing a 'ticking timebomb' due to insufficient action on building new prison spaces while existing facilities were rapidly filling up. According to the National Audit Office, the MoJ under her leadership constructed only 6,518 new prison places out of a projected 20,000, with the target now expected to be met five years behind schedule.
During a Public Accounts Committee hearing last year, Dame Antonia acknowledged a 'degree of slippage in the delivery' of new prison places, attributing delays to unforeseen factors, including planning obstacles. She was also questioned about the MoJ's decision to lease HMP Dartmoor for a decade, despite known high levels of radon gas at the site, rendering hundreds of potential cells unusable.
Former prison governor John Podmore criticized the handling of the situation, stating that the problems accumulated during Romeo's time at the MoJ without significant intervention. He suggested that the department could have alleviated overcrowding by reducing the number of individuals held on remand or by minimizing the recall of prisoners for minor license violations.
Concerns have also been raised by Professor Ian Acheson, a former governor, who pointed to Dame Antonia's prior responsibility for the "disastrous" £4 billion part-privatisation of the probation service, which was later reversed. He suggested that senior civil servants advising the Prime Minister bear some blame for the current state of the criminal justice system.
However, a government source defended Dame Antonia, asserting that the current prison crisis is a legacy issue inherited from previous Conservative administrations. This perspective argues that decisions leading to the overcrowding, such as increased sentencing lengths and underfunding, were made by elected ministers rather than civil servants.
A government spokesperson stated that as Permanent Secretary at the MoJ, Dame Antonia led the program for new prison places, which included opening three new prisons with over 4,500 places and plans for an additional 14,000 by 2031. The spokesperson also added that she and her team worked to prevent the prison system from reaching maximum capacity, including during the summer riots in 2024, where she led the criminal justice system's response.
The current situation has prompted the Prime Minister to consider more drastic measures to increase capacity, including proposals that have raised concerns about placing inmates in facilities not originally intended for them. Dame Antonia Romeo now serves as Cabinet Secretary, advising the Prime Minister on government policy.