A SENIOR Conservative politician has warned during a visit to York that powers to tackle antisocial behaviour could prove ineffective because Britain's prisons are close to breaking point.

The Shadow Minister for Home, Constitutional and Legal Affairs, Cheryl Gillan, said new figures due to be released show that the prison service is within 200 inmates of its 75,191 capacity.

She said: "When an ASBO (Antisocial Behaviour Order) is broken, the offender goes into prison and the huge issue at the moment is that the prisons are at crisis point."

Ms Gillan was in York to speak to Tory students at the University of York about her drugs, drink, domestic violence and prisons remit.

She said police cells would have to be used for prisoners should prisons become completely full. The last time this happened was in 2002, at a cost of £10.4 million.

She said: "That's £363 per prisoner per night, which is more than a hotel room at Claridges. Who will pay for this crisis?

"We have been warning about this for a long time.

"Labour are trying to live up to their slogan 'Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime', but they haven't done their forward planning.

I think there seems to be a divide between rhetoric and reality."

The MP for Chesham and Amersham told the Evening Press Tory hopes were high following a successful spring conference in Harrogate last weekend, and a membership boost of 20,000 since Michael Howard became party leader.

She said: "To find that the students here who are studying politics are so bright and intelligent and engaged is wonderful."

Updated: 09:27 Saturday, March 13, 2004