BRITAIN’S creaking penal system has become a threat to national security, campaigners warned in response to “appalling” inspection reports on Long Lartin and Manchester prisons.

Conditions at the Manchester jail were so bad that inspectors issued an urgent notification, giving Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood 28 days to respond with an action plan for improvement.

They found a chronic rodent infestation and prisoners burning holes in supposedly secure windows so they could continue to receive regular deliveries of drugs by drone.