One night in the court cells costs as much as a Ritz suite

Prisoners are being held in court cells that cost more per night than a suite at the Ritz it emerged as ministers were accused of an "absurd waste of money".

The Government faced condemnation after it was revealed that 77 prisoners had been forced to use cells in courts since the start of the year at an average cost of £1,800 a night.

Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said that the average cost of court cells was more than the £1,600 a night which is charged for a deluxe suit at the Ritz Hotel in Piccadilly, London.

The figures came as the prison population reached breaking point. The prison service said that nearly 300 people were being held in police cells on Friday as official figures showed there were 80,456 inmates in the prison system. The figure is less than 350 below 80,800, the absolute maximum capacity of the prison system.

The Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers said last week that more than 7,000 inmates had to be accommodated in police cells at a cost of £23m a month since the overcrowding crisis began last October.