Police admit bugging jails

The Home Office and Prison Service have admitted that police are bugging prison cells and fitting listening devices to informers in jail in attempts to obtain evidence from top-level criminals.

Prison officers were angered by the revelation, fearing they could be the victims of a violent backlash by disgruntled inmates.

The listening devices are either hidden inside a cell, usually among the furniture, or attached to a police "grass". Although taped confessions so obtained are inadmissible in court, the police say they can provide useful leads. Jason Bennetto