UK prisoners have ‘better Christmas than pensioners’ | UK | News

Britain’s most notorious criminals are likely to have a bigger Christmas dinner than some pensioners this year, it has been claimed. Some inmates may reportedly round out the holidays with cell-made moonshine and deadly drugs smuggled in by the Christmas car.

Thousands of retirees struggling with rising costs are turning to food banks for Christmas dinner; Many British shops are launching free meal schemes, with The Trussell Trust distributing 179,000 food parcels to retirement-age households last year. Prisoners, meanwhile, will enjoy a full English breakfast on Christmas and Boxing Day, as well as a roast lunch with dessert, followed by a dinner of selective snacks. Some prison officers even organize contests and quizzes where inmates can win phone tokens, chocolates and coffee.

Former senior prison officer Jo Taylor he told The Sun: “Some people who work hard all year don’t get a decent Christmas dinner and pensioners are forced to live in freezing cold houses while prisoners get everything.”

Former drug lord Stuart Reid told the paper that many inmates were keen to “get high” with cocktails and smuggled drugs prepared in their cells.

“There are no Christmas crackers on the shelf or staff dressed as Santa Claus or Elf, but there is a lot of drink and drugs,” he said.

Mr Reid added that offenders’ involvement in alcohol was one of guards’ biggest fears in prison.

“If 10 or 20 people get drunk, serious violence can occur,” he said.

One such riot broke out at HMP Humber on Christmas Day 2018, when prisoners ripped pipe fittings from walls and loaded refrigerators into guards’ offices, causing £300,000 worth of damage.

Prisoners prepare moonshine, or hooch, with yeast and water from stockpiled fruit, juice cartons, sugar, and bread scraps. Raids on Hooch distillery equipment increased by 2% to 671 incidents between March 2024 and March 2025, with Hooch discovered 8,450 times.

Christmas is also a popular time for prisoners to smuggle drugs behind bars – 35 prisoners at HMP Glenochil in Scotland were found drunk last Christmas after a criminal gang used drones to distribute the substances.

Many prisons were also forced to ban Christmas cards after discovering that Spice, a synthetic cannabis that can paralyze users, was made to look like glitter.