A prison podcast studio in Leicester has set off a public quarrel between two parties on the political right.
The £20,000 studio at HMP Leicester runs two workshops each day for selected prisoners. Their recordings play to the rest of the prison over its internal audio system.
Inspectors recently criticised the prison for a high rate of violence compared with similar jails. The studio forms part of the plan to bring that down.
Rupert Matthews, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, backed the project. Mr Matthews left the Conservatives for Reform last year. According to figures released in answer to a parliamentary question, his office gave the prison £10,000 to build the studio. HM Prison and Probation Service added a further £10,000 for equipment.
Nick Timothy, the Conservative shadow justice secretary, has attacked the scheme. He reportedly told The Telegraph: “It is a waste of taxpayer money to build prisoners their own personal podcast studio, while partnering with Labour to match their funding.”
He went on to say the commissioner should put the money into fighting crime rather than letting prisoners “cosplay as Joe Rogan”, a reference to the American podcaster. He said victims would feel insulted that their taxes paid for it, and called on Reform to end the project.
Mr Matthews called the spending “modest”. He argued that rehabilitation saves “far more” in police, court and prison costs, which makes it a “sound investment for taxpayers and public safety”. He said: “I felt that [the podcast studio] represented an appropriate use of Community Action Fund money.”
An instructor leads the two-hour sessions every weekday morning and evening and also edits the podcasts. One episode put questions to the governor. Another told new arrivals what to expect on their first night.
Mr Timothy asked ministers what value the HMP Leicester scheme offered. In reply, Prisons Minister Catherine McKinnell said “purposeful activity” such as podcasting was a “proven way” to reduce reoffending. She said: “This helps prisoners develop skills, improve behaviour, and prepare for employment on release.”
HMP Leicester is a men’s reception prison in the East Midlands. At its full inspection in November 2025, inspectors rated purposeful activity as poor and safety as not sufficiently good.
