Two women have just died at HMP Styal, a 59-year-old on Dec 18 and a 46-year-old on Dec 21. My heart goes out to their loved ones. Well done to Manchester News MEN for reporting the deaths. But is it just me who finds their follow-up story, published on Christmas Day, insensitive?

"I miss the smiles." What Christmas is really like in a women's prison - by a serving prisoner, not an unnamed prison officer speaking to a journalist. (Paywall, but you can register for free to read it.) Doing time – love, guilt, remorse, regret, hope thetablet.co.uk/features/2/238…

Christmas in a male jail is equally grim, as David Shipley points out. If there are really rough sleepers whose lives are so awful that they'd rather be in prison at this time of year, what kind of person would conclude 'We'd better make prisons a bit worse'?

I totally agree with both David’s. We need a proper and honest debate about what prison should be for and who should and who should not go there and what the costs are. We need to level with the public that the approach we have been taking for decades is not working.

When I interviewed Rory Stewart for InsideTime he told me it should be illegal to keep prisoners locked up all day, or to convert single cells into doubles. And why can't flip-flops be worn on landings? insidetime.org/prisons-are-sh…

Erwin was a terrific writer & great colleague, always supportive since I joined InsideTime in 2019. I learned a lot from him about the importance of hope for our readers in prison. It was an honour to succeed him as Editor on his retirement in 2023, and I'll miss him.

Erwin James FRSA MUniv (Open) printed a piece of mine in InsideTime and profoundly said it was “it was the most profound article he had ever published,” So, it’s a quieted joy, the wonderful Ben Leapman has shared this piece in his honour. To Erwin, one last time ❤️

After prison staff lied at her fiancé's inquest, Kate joins calls for a duty of candour on all state bodies. #HillsboroughLawNow InsideTime reports insidetime.org/newsround/make… Kate's represented by DPG's Amalia King & Taimour Lay Garden Court Chambers

Given that we've jailed more people than we have prison places for, the current Government's 60-day ECSL early release scheme is sensible. But not if those people are released homeless, and thus re-jailed a few days later. insidetime.org/newsround/pris….

*BREAKING NEWS* Ministry of Justice tells Justice Committee it is 'pausing' controversial plan to build 500 extra places at 5 women's prisons in England for £150m. Plans were announced in Jan 2021. Unclear how much has already been spent. (Great spot Rob Allen) committees.parliament.uk/publications/4…

When I was in prison, I loved reading InsideTime - a newspaper distributed inside our jails. It made me feel as though other people understood my experience. It's always a pleasure to write for them. This piece, about HMP Wandsworth, and Wandsworth Prison Improvement Campaign is addressed to people

Men in prison will be banned from having a proper shave, but as compensation, each one will be given an electric razor. Fair trade-off? Free £15 shaver for every man insidetime.org/newsround/free…

My interview with the impressive Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe ... On prison conditions in Iran, the support women gave one another, and the value of books behind bars insidetime.org/comment/the-wo…

Congratulations to James Timpson on his appointment as Prisons Minister. Has he found the note yet, left by his predecessor? Saying "I'm afraid there are no prison places"?

EXCLUSIVE: Prison governors say some newly-recruited officers speak such poor English that they cannot be understood by prisoners or colleagues. One recruit had such bad eyesight that when he dropped his baton, it took him 10 minutes to find it. insidetime.org/newsround/let-…

This chap's brave! It’s a tough crowd, as actor tours prisons reciting Bible insidetime.org/newsround/its-…

Prisoners can't vote, and too often they're silenced. I hope hundreds take this opportunity to have their say when it counts on a subject they're experts in. #SentencingReview

It was a pleasure to interview Michael Farmer about prisoners' contact with their families, the cost of calls from in-cell phones, and the gender gap in sentencing. Do women get softer justice? insidetime.org/comment/do-wom…

'Broken' court system jeopardising justice. We spent time inside crown court & it's bad... With Tom Parmenter John Anthony ShootEditor The CBA Idle Courts Victims' Commissioner for England & Wales Victim Support news.sky.com/story/inside-t…

With firm evidence that prison leavers who find jobs are less likely to reoffend, it's in everyone's interest that ex-sex offenders can work. The Minister for Prisons, Probation & Reducing Reoffending needs a plan - but at least he's being honest in saying he doesn't have one!