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d up itsin the dictionary, and until they do I’ine what the words ‘until they do’as slowly as I can in the direction of the workshops, and find I am the last to arrive
This ti – a punish the last to turn up My new, intellectually challenging job is to place two sarine, one sachet of raspberry ja before it’s sealed up and taken away for use in another prison The youngthee cardboard box looks like a wrestler He’s about five foot ten, early twenties, wears a spotless white T-shirt and sner jeans His heavily muscled arms are bronzed, so it’s not difficult to work out that he hasn’t been in Bel The answer to that question turns out to be three weeks He tells me that his name is Peter He’s married with one child and runs his own company
‘What do you do?’ I ask
‘I’, and not ‘I used to be’ so, then you can almost be certain that their sentence is short or they’re on reoes on to tellco dilapidated houses in up-and-co areas of Essex They renovate the houses and then sell them on Last year, between them, they were able to earn around two thousand pounds a week But that was before Peter was arrested He co, decent sort ofin Belmarsh? I ask myself Who can he possibly have murdered? His brother, perhaps? He answers that question withoutto enquire
‘I was caught driving my brother’s van without a licence My brother usually does the driving, but he was off sick for the day, so I took his building tools froe sentenced me to six weeks in jail’
Let me make it clear I have no objection to the sentence, but it’s madness to have sent this man to Belmarsh I do hope that the Hos when John Major was Pri e carefully
‘Are you in a cell on your own?’ I enquire
‘No, I’m locked up with two other prisoners’
‘What are they in for?’
‘One’s on a charge ofdealer’
‘That can’t be ht of it
Are you still with me, Home Secretary?
‘It’s hell,’ Peter replies ‘I haven’t slept for ht they sent et up to I can handlea cell with are professional criminals’
Are you still paying attention, Home Secretary?
‘And worse,’ he adds ‘One of them offered ins’