Ramsey in the nick
Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 11:27 pm
Fiery television chef Gordon Ramsay has launched a scathing attack on Britain's jails, claiming criminals have it easy behind bars.
The outspoken Scot said he was 'astounded' to find prisoners enjoyed perks such as a gym, DVDs, games consoles and access to TV around the clock. He was speaking after trying to teach inmates at London's Brixton prison to cook in a new TV show, due to be screened later this month.
Ramsay said he was disappointed by the prisoners' lack of enthusiasm and reluctance to work hard. 'What I wasn't prepared for was how easy it was for them in there,' he told Guardian Weekend. 'I was astounded at the comfort zone they carve out for themselves. 'Five meal choices a night - that was the one I really struggled with. I just thought it was a bit of a joke, to be honest. 'Coupled with 24-hour television, Xbox, DVDs, gym. We can't watch television until four o'clock in the morning. I'd like to have a gym seven days a week, by the way.'
The chef added: 'I thought we were a nation of grafters...Why would they want to come and bust their arse for 10 hours a day when it was easy for them to do nothing?'
In the series, Gordon Ramsay Behind Bars, the chef sets up a kitchen - Bad Boys' Bakery - and trains inmates to cook and sell produce to businesses on the outside. He said he was surprised by the high standard of the facilities, pointing out that professional chefs rarely walked into a kitchen so good. But he felt angry and embarrassed about the prisoners' attitude, and he revealed how he became frustrated with the prison system.
A spokesman for Justice Secretary Ken Clarke said: 'We are building more working prisons in order to get more prisoners into constructive work and training, instead of enforced idleness in their cells, watching TV or playing computer games. 'A prisoner who works during his or her sentence will be paying back to society for the harm they have caused and be much less likely to return to crime on release. It's common sense.'
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